Estimated Recovery Time?

paige594 · October 23rd, 2006, 05:13 PM

Had an MRI...my doc says it showed a "frayed" meniscus and a "slight" tear in the ACL. Scheduled to go to the specialist this week to have it scoped. I have never had any surgery of this type before. Wondering what others experiences are regarding recovery time from this type of surgery? I'm sure it's not uncommon, but anybody else that had both of these together?

paige

**Vizigoth** · October 23rd, 2006, 11:25 PM

Be sure to get a referral to a good sports medicine doctor. If your cartilage is frayed, it has likely received a multitude of small to medium traumas, though Liza would be a better judge of that than I. Do/did you do a lot of contact sports? If you let it go long enough, your joint will just pound the miniscus into tiny bits that will jam your joint for years until a doctor goes in there to vacuum out the debris. If you do have the surgery, the recovery time can be fairly quick if your doctor is skilled enough to get it done quickly yet perfectly. You might actually encounter more complications from the anesthesia. I am lucky enough to have one of the great Orthopedic Surgeons in the region. The guy is an artist. After three major joint surgeries, I was back on my feet in a week with two of them, and a month after a tibular platform (lower portion of the knee joint) was splintered into nine pieces.

paige594 · October 24th, 2006, 08:40 PM

Thanks for your input. I was talking with some other folks today, and I am getting conflicting opinions. I was under the impression that if the ACL is torn, no matter how minor, that I might as well get it repaired, if for no other reason than to just prevent a major tear later. One guy at work said that his dr. decided to let the minor tear in his ACL be, and just basically said that he can't be as active anymore. That seems like a bum idea, to me. I want to fix it all now, rather than "wait and see". Again, I still am waiting for the consult with the ortho, who is supposed to be one of the best in the area, so I'll see what he has to say.

dazzler · October 25th, 2006, 04:50 AM

Theres every chance that the minor fraying with the meniscus would be a minimal rehab issue. My players are very rarely out of action for more than 2 weeks, most 5 to 7 days, but we have a couple of great surgeons (1 has worked with NZ rugby, the other works on all the Premiership soccer and top rugby players)
The ACL is a bit more long winded. A full recon is a lengthy rehab, often 6 to 9 months for full fitness. I also have players with either very lax or even no ACL's playing professional sport - they simply work hard on lower limb strength, focusing on hamstrings and calves to help control the laxity in the knee joint...so it's not the end of the world!
Good luck with either decision, and don't be shy about 2nd opinions either, it's your right to do so, and you start to build a picture of the surgeons reputations too. In fact, why not call a few top sports clubs in your area, speak to the Physio's and see who they would reccommend, it may give you a bit more piece of mind. Good Luck.