Ruptured Patellar Tendon Surgery

[SellaVee]

copper44, good to hear there's another female on board.  If your good leg is strong and you have OK balance you should be able to get on and off the toilet without a problem.  I've described it in (possibly too much) detail above.  With a place to prop my crutches and something to put my injured leg on it's become one of my most stable transfers.  The most important thing is having something of the right height to put your leg on.  This might mean leaving the bathroom door open!  If, previously, you were able to stand on one leg and do dips you should be able to do this.  You need a bit of coordination to be able to start sitting down while lifting your leg up but the leg lifter is brilliant.  Before I had it I was using a towel to pull my leg up.

When I first hurt my leg I was in so much pain that I had to have help doing everything, and on the first day in hospital I wasn't allowed out of bed, but since I've been home I've been learning techniques to get about indoors.  I can manage stairs but I'll only go downstairs if I have someone in front of me.

BTW my leg looks like a soft panna cotta, not a dried one!  When I sit on the bed with my legs straight out my left leg looks firm but when I take the brace off my right leg my thigh just sort of collapses - like when you turn out a dessert and it hasn't set.  It's really weird.   Sort of floppy. 

If you can find the posts by Joerd101, quite a while back, you'll be encouraged.  He also had a delay in getting surgery and made a great recovery.

I was glad to have my leg fixed, but emotionally it was very hard.  I had pills for the pain and tissues for the tears.  As fishy says you need to be patient.  The road is long but this forum is a great help.

[fishy]

Dr visit today, week 11 evaluation....ROM130 right, ROM128 left....(yes, I am a double).  Still have a gait that is kind of sloppy and slow....and wonderful.  Really low pain levels and we discussed the next series of PT.  I have been doing exercises that help with ROM and flexibility in general....starting tomorrow weight training to get the strength back.  I promised that I would be dancing at a wedding on August 24th and I do believe I will achieve that goal.  I promised my OS that I would "bust a move that doesn't bust my quads....".....he only shook his head.  Keep posting people.  I keep you all in my prayers for a speedy and full recovery. 

[carkeltom]

OK, my fellow RPT sufferers.  Saw the Ortho surgeon today and he said I seem to be doing fine.  He is a D.O. so that is a plus for me, since he seemed to be very in tune with the muscles and bones.  He gave me some details about the surgery.  Both knees had the same type of rupture, from the distal poles, torn completely off the patella.  He said that he used anchors after drilling into the patella and sutures to reattach.  He also said that the material on the side of the tendon were shredded and he sewed them back together.  Since I have a double RPT, he had to measure to get the kneecaps set.  Right knee suffered come other strains and damage, but nothing surgically wrong.  He wants 3 more weeks of immobilization before I can return to work.  He said my quad sets are OK but need to get stronger so as to prevent more atrophy.  Tried a leg lift and could barley keep the right one off the table but the left was better.  Was hoping to get back to work, but I guess that will have to wait.  On a positive note, I have not used any morphine based meds in more than a week.  Pain is getting tolerable and he said the numbness on the knees will get better as the healing continues.

Have a good one folks and keep going strong.

Tom

[SellaVee]

Fishy and Tom, you two are such an inspiration.  I would be impressed if you'd only busted one leg and you've each done two.  Your PMA (positive mental attitude) is shining through.

Fishy, your ROM is excellent for 11 weeks.  I think having the wedding to look forward to will do you good.  Following my son's wedding I rode along on a bubble of happiness for a full week afterwards.

Tom, what's a D.O. ?  I'm impressed by your leg lift attempts, even though you didn't get that far.  My consultant asked me to try one at my 5 week appointment and I got nowhere. 

I think I need to work more at getting my whole self stronger, not just my quads.  I'd had foot surgery in December which meant I was below par in terms of fitness when I fell.  Now that I'm no longer going up and down stairs on my bottom I'm going to use a Pilates ring and hand weights to strengthen my upper arms and I'm going to try and work out how to strengthen my core without using my legs.  I don't fancy trying the plank at the moment!

There, I've said it out loud.  I'll have to do it now!! 

I found a post, from 2008 I think, where someone described how many knee slides and calf stretches they were doing.  That was very helpful and has given me something to aim for.
 

[hages1]

Hi All!
I will like to share my injury, and hope to hear some feedback.
on the 12th of July I injured my left knee playing basket ball, I came down from a rebound and heard a loud snap and fell to the ground. I was taken to the emergency room took some xrays and was told that the bones are ok. "go home and rest and go to a knee specialist next week". went to knee doc he said probably a acl/mcl tear, get a MRI and come back in 2 weeks. after MRI, diagnoses was: complete rupture in Patellar tendon, torn Acl, damaged meniscus.
Doc said I need surgery to repair patellar tendon right away, since this was three weeks after injury!
 I had the surgery August 3
I was put in a brace and was told not to bend knee for 6 weeks.
today 11 days later, I need crutches to walk,but can put almost full weight on injured leg.
I was wondering if this is standard not to bend knee at all for six weeks?
thanks in advance.

[John42]

Hi Hages

WElcome to the RPT thread, you will have realised that you have sustained a very rare and serious injury, with a long rehab period up to six months.

Important that you read some previous posts on this thread.

ASK questions, lots of buddies out here to help you.

Click onto the undermentioned thread -

Documents which I have compiled together with KneeGuru, giving you lots of information about your injury and the rehab process

ASK questions - Keep posting

Where do you live?

Take care
JohnK/ Manchester UK   


https://www.facebook.com/QuadricepsPatellarTendonRupture

[SellaVee]

Hello hages1, and welcome to the forum.
 
I ruptured my patellar tendon on the 11th June and had surgery on the 5th July so I'm about a month ahead of you and suffered a similar delay.
 
If you read through some of the previous posts (though perhaps not all 10 years worth!)  you'll see that there isn't one standard way of treating this injury.  Some people are put into plaster casts for 6 weeks or more so they would have no bending.  Others start physiotherapy within 2 weeks of surgery.  Some surgeons favour aggressive rehab while others take a more conservative approach.
 
I had lots of bandages and a cricket splint (UK term) on my leg for the first two weeks, then I was put into a Breg hinged brace locked at full extension for three weeks.  At 5 weeks I was allowed to have it unlocked to 30^o, so I'm now doing some work on increasing my ROM (range of motion).  I will be at the 7 week point when I have my first proper physiotherapy appointment and I expect that's when the serious bending begins.  In the meantime I'll try to increase ROM.
 
Because of the delay, I'd lost a lot of quad strength before I'd even had surgery and this means I'll take longer to recover.
 
There are some truly inspiring posts on this board and you will learn a lot.  It will help you ask the right questions and show you lots of different ways to recover.
 
Hope this helps.
 
SellaVee

[carkeltom]

hello Hages.

I suffered a rare double patellar tendon rupture and my doctor said six weeks of immobilization is the norm.  I have been immobile since my accident on 7/19.  from what I have read, the earlier the diagnosis of RPT, the better, but that does not mean that there will be any negative side effects from the wait.  I have had minimal PT visits in home and no passive ROM exercise machine since insurance said it was not medically necessary.  I began working on some proprioception exercises today and have been good at not bearing full weight, even though I feel that I could.  Good luck and it can get better.

[fishy]

We should start our own club...dual RPT's.....nah, lets just stay where we are... I was 9 weeks before my braces were completely removed....and it was wonderful....better circulation, and I am now at week 11+3 days and the progress is amazing.  My gait is radically improving.  I have been doing home PT but today I had my first of 8 PT visits at the VA hospital.  I am 66 yo male...and the rehab gym was filled with fifteen buff 20something's.... since I am a vet and these strapping individuals are vets we hit it off....that and all of them were wearing a brace or limping from surgeries made all of us brothers from different mothers.  A one and a half hour workout and god do I feel sore....but I got thru it.  And all of you will get thru it.  Our motto has to be "Patience".  You will recover in time....

[SellaVee]

I am 66 yo male...and the rehab gym was filled with fifteen buff 20something's.... since I am a vet and these strapping individuals are vets we hit it off....that and all of them were wearing a brace or limping from surgeries made all of us brothers from different mothers.

Fishy, I am a 60 yo female and I really do feel that if I could work out in a gym with fifteen buff 20somethings I'd do very well in rehab.  Can you please tell me where to find this gym  ?

I used to be in the TA (Territorial Army) so I'm sure I'd fit right in  .  On the other hand I'm five feet nothing and built like a beach ball on legs so maybe not  .

[Super_arran]

Hi,
Thought I'd share my story on here as I'm bored to tears at home climbing the walls.

So, on the 13th of June this year I snapped my patellar tendon playing football.
The pain was nothing like I'd felt before; it felt like a sledgehammer being slammed right in to my knee. But strangely after about 10 minutes I had no pain at all.
I got taken to hospital where an ultra sound scan confirmed that it was a complete rupture. (right off the knee cap)
A week later I had my operation, which was the simple reattachment way just using stitches. No wire.

I was in a cast for 4 weeks in total and by the end of the last week I was able to do straight leg raises.

4 days after the cast came off and the hinged leg brace went on, I slipped on some grass and completely ripped the tendon off the knee cap (the surgeon told me that the stitches that had gone through the patella and shin were still in place and the tendon had just ripped). Probably explains why it felt twice as painful this time!
Gas and air in the ambulance helped a lot!

I had my second operation a week and a half later at Blackburn Royal hospital.
This time round they have put the wire loop in, taken some hamstring out of my thigh and used that to strengthen the patellar tendon.

Today is 2 weeks after my second operation and the knee looks a little like a butchers bin. There's a lot of swelling still on the knee cap area and the skin around it has scabbed up because of the trauma of two major ops.

The knee is still quite achy and my quad is non existent.

It's crazy how much you take walking for granted haha.

Arran, UK

[John42]

Hi Super_Arran

Welcome to the RPT thread on KneeGuru - you must the first person to rupture their tendon in such a short space of time.   You have sustained a very serious injury which with physion will take six months or more to get your self to preinjury.   

Read previous posts -  ASK questions -   PATIENCE is required

Click on the undermention thread - read with care a collection of documents which I have compiled together with KneeGuru which will give you a good insight to the injury and the rehab process.

I am in North Manchester, so not too far from your neck in the woods.

Take care   Keep posting

JohnK/Manchester UK

https://www.facebook.com/QuadricepsPatellarTendonRupture

[Super_arran]

Yeh, it's not been the best summer haha.

Cheers, I'll definitely give that link a look

[fishy]

Hey Super-arran, welcome to the club.  Man, you are living my worst nightmare....reinjuring.  I am a double (sort of, right leg only torn ligament, but both legs braced for 9 weeks).  That being said I am glad you are on the mend now.  You have already figured out that a upbeat attitude goes a long way towards recovery.  My braces came off over two weeks ago and my first PT is behind me (but strangely the pain lingers....).  Patience is a necessity now, both for you and me.  Hang in there man, keep working your program, add in a dash of good humor and in time the braces will be off.  Looking forward to your progress reports....

[carkeltom]

Sorry Sella, but I am not back at work yet, was just hoping to be able to get released to go back.  I use two stools in the bathroom when sitting on the toilet since my legs dangle straight out.  And a D.O. is a Doctor of Osteopathy as opposed to an MD, a Doctor of Medicine.  They go to different schools here in the US.  They have sort of differing views on health and medicine I guess.  D.O.'s in my mind tend to be more holistic in terms of their approach and seen to have a more balanced approach in terms of the body and it's healing. 

For everyone, is anyone using a muscle stimulator at their home?  And if so, what should I look for one for my personal use.  My OS has it on the protocol for the next few weeks to stimulate muscles.  Neither the physical therapist or OS said anything this week.  I would like to have one and there seem to be some combo TENS and MS units available for under $100.  I am sure that I would get good usage out of it if I purchase one.  I am not even going to bother with insurance paying for it since I am sure they will say it is not medically necessary.  Any hints.