Question 1

how successful is an acl reconstruction?

Accepted Answer

Very: The vast majority of patients have excellent relief of instability and pain.

Question 2

how long does an acl reconstruction take?

Accepted Answer

1 hours: Time varies depending on whether or not the graft is harvested from your own knee or is a donor allograft, but its usually about an hour.  This allows for the knee to be examined, bone tunnels to be drilled in the tibia (shin bone) and femur (thigh bone) and the graft to be passed through the tibia into the femur.

Question 3

how long is recovery for acl reconstruction?

Accepted Answer

Depends on extent of: Injury, age, rehab , and pre inury health status.

Question 4

how can i tell if my acl reconstruction has worked?

Accepted Answer

Stability of knee: Your doctor will examine your knee and perform tests to determine graft and knee stability.  As time passes and you are allowed more activities, the stability of the knee should feel solid.  Feelings of giving way would be worrisome for failure of the graft.

Question 5

how long does the pain last post-acl reconstruction?

Accepted Answer

A few weeks: The acute pain from surgery typically last only a couple of weeks.  Following, it is not uncommon to feel less pain as time goes on.  However, it is also normal to have soreness and some swelling in the knee for a few months following major reconstructive knee surgery.

Question 6

what is the procedure like for an acl reconstruction?

Accepted Answer

Variable: There are many techniques and different expertise levels between surgeons, so the procedure can be quite variable. In general, a knee arthroscopy (or scope) is performed through small incisions. The old acl remnant is removed, tunnels are created at the site of the old acl. Then a tendon is placed within the tunnel to recreate the acl, which is fixed with screws, buttons, or anchors.

Question 7

how long does it take to heal from acl reconstruction?

Accepted Answer

5-12 months, varies: This is highly variable depending on other injuries in the knee, the activity level you are returning to, and the type of surgery/graft choice used to replace your acl. In general, daily activities and sedentary work can be resumed in 2-6 weeks. Full healing of the graft varies from 6 months to 2 years. Most sports can be resumed at 6-9 months, but normal strength and function may take longer.

Question 8

how do you tell if there is acl reconstruction failure?

Accepted Answer

Knee feels unstable: There are many ways to define failure after  acl recon.  The graft can fail traumatically or because of a technical error either way you will feel the knee is unstable and slides in and out of place with buckling and giving away.  At this point an MRI scan can be used to evaluate the status of the acl graft.

Question 9

how variable is recovery time from a acl reconstruction?

Accepted Answer

Not variable: There are 2 considerations for recovery after acl reconstruction. First is the immediate surgery recovery, which can vary depending on surgeon and whether your own tendon is used. Generally you can be walking normally somewhere between 1 and 6 weeks. More importantly, the graft does not reincorporate until 6-8 months for your own and 8-9 months for donor graft. You cannot be pivoting before then.

Question 10

question about acl reconstruction? risk vs benefit to me?

Accepted Answer

Most benefit: The acl is not only the anterior cruciate ligament but also the crucial ligament for stability of the knee.  Most younger or more active patients will function better and have fewer knee problems with their acl reconstructed.

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Acl reconstruction

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