ACL Surgery (Moto Crash :p)

swizcore
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swizcore 11/7/2009 6:39am
11/7/2009 6:39am Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 6:49pm
Update:

I'm home now lying in bed with my foot elevated on a pillow about a foot above my waist. They got me one of those cold water circulating wraps which is nice. They took my autograft from my patella. My rx is Vicoden though I haven't felt the need to take any pain meds yet, I attribute that to the wrap( I think).


While lying down I've been doing lots of ankle rolls and contracting my leg muscles. Nurse said to keep my knee as straight as possible for the first seven days which I have been, though when I walk to the bathroom I try to bend as mush as I can( the cold water wrap keeps it pretty immobalized).


Anyhow, now that it's done is there anything I should be doing now while horizontal that I didn't mention I am doing?


Other than the tip of my tongue still being a bit numb from anasthesia I feel good.


Oh and for the 100k question. No catheter for me!
swizcore
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swizcore 11/7/2009 6:42am
11/7/2009 6:42am
Oh and thanks for all the info in this thread guys. It was great piece of mind going into my first surgery ever; my wife found it very odd that I got so much info from Vital members lol.
TJW909
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TJW909 11/7/2009 8:26am
11/7/2009 8:26am
Ice is your friend. The ice therapy machines are great. After my knee surgery in Aug. I ran it 3 days straight and with the PT I am having now I am still using it. I had a different injury I tore the cartlidge off the patella and had a microfracture process done. I will have an MRI on Monday to see if it took and if the cartlidge is filling in. Good luck with your recovery.
roguemx
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roguemx 11/7/2009 9:21am
11/7/2009 9:21am
Another great thing about surgery is just before you wake up they inject pain killers into the knee... you feel like superman after. Rehab that knee as soon as possible, it will hurt like hell but it's the only way to keep all your mobility.

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bchristy613
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bchristy613 11/8/2009 8:26am
11/8/2009 8:26am
I'm getting surgery on my ACL this friday (13th) but they are taking the patella graft from my good knee (contralateral). Should be a fun couple of weeks lol
DanDunes818 11/8/2009 11:10am
11/8/2009 11:10am Edited Date/Time 11/8/2009 11:13am
swizcore wrote:
Oh and thanks for all the info in this thread guys. It was great piece of mind going into my first surgery ever; my wife found...
Oh and thanks for all the info in this thread guys. It was great piece of mind going into my first surgery ever; my wife found it very odd that I got so much info from Vital members lol.
The people on vital know a lot about knee surgery and knee surgery post op recovery.I'd estimate 2 out of every 3 mx racers over 25 have had a knee surgery of some kind. Probably 1 out of 3 have had their knees replaced like you and i did. As far as any advice for the first week post op I'd say you're doing the right thing w/the constant ankle rolls. Not much else you can do yet. As far as pain I didn't feel anything for the first 24 hours because I was numbed with a femoral nerve block that lasted the first 24 hours. The next day I was back in PT and they took my drain thingy off. They also taught me the (ROM)range of motion exercises.The 2nd night the pain kicked in pretty good and I found out why they gave me the vicodin. The 3rd night though the pain was already starting to subside and by day 4 I was done with needing the pain pills. I did take them to help with sleep though . I only needed advil during the day from day 4 on. Take it slow and do the ROM exercises as much as your body lets you. Also keep in mind you will feel 100% a lot sooner then you actually are which gets us riders in trouble. We start doing things long before we should because it seems ok and end up completely destroying all the Dr's good work. I hope this helps a little and Good Luck.
swizcore
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swizcore 11/8/2009 11:27am
11/8/2009 11:27am
Thanks for the good advice on your pain situation and reminder that I'll feel 100% before I am; that's key for sure. My nerve block still has me pretty well numb but I'm starting to feel again slowly. I'm going to rehab exactly as instructed without skimping, I don't want to risk any chance at less than the best it can be.
andymoto
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andymoto 11/8/2009 11:28am
11/8/2009 11:28am
Yeah, normally no catheters....sounds like you're doing well pain wise, which is real encouraging.

Wish you the best in your recovery and PT before getting back on the bike.

Andy Medin
jemcee
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jemcee 11/8/2009 5:57pm
11/8/2009 5:57pm
hey boys late to the thread but on the whole catheter issue. I've got to self catheter every 4 hours or so, or when i get tingles which means i've got about a minute until i piss myself ha ha
think about that for a second

i keep telling you all wear a neck brace ha
swizcore
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swizcore 11/8/2009 7:51pm
11/8/2009 7:51pm
Just wanted to add a pic to the thread.
Day two, after shower.
TJ 755
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TJ 755 11/8/2009 8:09pm
11/8/2009 8:09pm
swizcore wrote:
Just wanted to add a pic to the thread. Day two, after shower. [img]http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs077.snc3/14446_195720342914_748332914_3919562_5099364_n.jpg[/img]
Just wanted to add a pic to the thread.
Day two, after shower.
OMG that looks gnarly. glad I went Allo. Cadaver Achilles filleted to perfection.
swizcore
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swizcore 11/8/2009 8:12pm
11/8/2009 8:12pm
Seems like an achilles would make for an awesome ACL.
TJ 755
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TJ 755 11/8/2009 8:18pm
11/8/2009 8:18pm
swizcore wrote:
Seems like an achilles would make for an awesome ACL.
That 's the idea. Do you know what they used for anchors?
swizcore
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swizcore 11/8/2009 8:20pm
11/8/2009 8:20pm
No, I've been wondering myself. Im gonna ask doc when I see him next monday.
bchristy613
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bchristy613 11/9/2009 4:42am
11/9/2009 4:42am
patella grafts are the gold standard.. cadaver grafts sometimes reject and they are mostly used on older sedentary people. if you go over to thumpertalk and look up dr. mark's threads on ACL's you will learn a lot about it..
TJW909
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TJW909 11/9/2009 10:50am
11/9/2009 10:50am
Thanks for the info on Dr. Mark I wish I would have found that info earlier. I thought I had done all my research and had a microfracture done on my knee but I am at 12 weeks and not walking to good and still have swelling. I had a MRI this morn. and will find out Tues. morn if it took or failed. For just having cartlidge problems I never thought it would be this painful and so much down time.
FlickitFlat 11/9/2009 12:21pm
11/9/2009 12:21pm Edited Date/Time 11/9/2009 12:22pm
FlickitFlat 11/9/2009 12:26pm
11/9/2009 12:26pm Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 6:51pm
Here is mine
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swizcore
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swizcore 11/9/2009 1:00pm
11/9/2009 1:00pm
Any pain for you flickit?
My nerve block is still pretty good, the feeling is slowly coming back. This is day three, hoping that by the time full feeling is restored, most of the nasty pain is over with, until rehab starts. Wonder why your not bruised up like me, im not an easy bruiser usually.
DanDunes818 11/9/2009 1:17pm
11/9/2009 1:17pm
swizcore wrote:
Just wanted to add a pic to the thread. Day two, after shower. [img]http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs077.snc3/14446_195720342914_748332914_3919562_5099364_n.jpg[/img]
Just wanted to add a pic to the thread.
Day two, after shower.
10 years ago it used to look so much worse then that after surgery.. Modern medicine rocks.

I hope today is better than yesterday.
DanDunes818 11/9/2009 1:18pm
11/9/2009 1:18pm
swizcore wrote:
Any pain for you flickit? My nerve block is still pretty good, the feeling is slowly coming back. This is day three, hoping that by the...
Any pain for you flickit?
My nerve block is still pretty good, the feeling is slowly coming back. This is day three, hoping that by the time full feeling is restored, most of the nasty pain is over with, until rehab starts. Wonder why your not bruised up like me, im not an easy bruiser usually.
I can't believe the femoral nerve block is still working.. Mine was done working like 16 hrs after the surgery. That's awesome.
FlickitFlat 11/9/2009 3:40pm
11/9/2009 3:40pm
I think the nerve blocks are different for each person and even then different each time. They explained to me they are kinda hit and miss. This time mine missed a little. The whole inside of my leg was numb but not the outside at all.

I had some moderately uncomfortable pain most of early Sat. morning and Sat. night. I'm glad I spent Fri. in the hospital. I was drugged up pretty good and I still had a hard throbbing pain. Morphine isn't my drug so they kicked me up on something else.

I was worried about coming home and not having enough ammo to fight it. It was getting pretty severe. I don't know what happened between Sat. night and Sunday morning but Sunday and Today I am doing great. I had my first Theropy today. I just took it easy and stretched but I was able to bend 125 degree after a few min. and leg lifts quad sets ect. wasn't all that uncomfortable. I hope I can stay on this stride for a while. I currently have 0 pain.

I don't understand, my leg has no numbness to it at all. not even beside my insission. It doesn't even feel funny when I touch it.

I'm sure my leg will be as bruised as yours if not more in a few days. Last time my leg was so bruised it was black as coal but that didn't happen until about the 10th day. I'm weird like that.

My surgery was half and half what they planned on it being. They was able to get through my scar tissue and get to my hamstring which was a concern. I guess they was only able to get one piece they were able to use. So I have one graph of my hamstring and one of a cadavor (don't know what part). They said I had some real hamstring damage and it looked like someone took a hammer to it. It was hurting when I jogged but I had no idea it was injured. I guess they cleaned it up so it should heal properly and I got some hardware they were able to remove.

FlickitFlat 11/9/2009 3:42pm
11/9/2009 3:42pm
swizcore wrote:
Just wanted to add a pic to the thread. Day two, after shower. [img]http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs077.snc3/14446_195720342914_748332914_3919562_5099364_n.jpg[/img]
Just wanted to add a pic to the thread.
Day two, after shower.
DanDunes818 wrote:
10 years ago it used to look so much worse then that after surgery.. Modern medicine rocks.

I hope today is better than yesterday.
The one I had done on Friday I also had done in 1991. It didn't look that good until about 4 months. Times have changed big time. Its night and day.
swizcore
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swizcore 11/9/2009 4:12pm
11/9/2009 4:12pm
Yeah, I have been hearing about the strides made in knee surgeries over the last few years. If mine stays on the track its been thus far I will be planning to have my other knee done next year.
swizcore
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swizcore 11/15/2009 7:28pm
11/15/2009 7:28pm
Is it normal when all the nerve block has worn off that when you stand after lying down for a few hours the blood rush to your knee makes it feel like it's about to explode? That's some pain!
jmar
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jmar 11/15/2009 7:32pm
11/15/2009 7:32pm
swizcore wrote:
I have surgery in the morning and just always assumed I there wasnt a chance in hell I'd be getting a catheter but my sister who...
I have surgery in the morning and just always assumed I there wasnt a chance in hell I'd be getting a catheter but my sister who is an OT is saying I may need one and Im freaking a little.

Catheter for ACL replacement or nay?
(please say no)
My son has been through four ACLs and not a single one required a catheter.
David Izer
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David Izer 11/15/2009 7:32pm
11/15/2009 7:32pm
Good luck, Kevin.
CamP
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CamP 11/15/2009 7:41pm
11/15/2009 7:41pm
swizcore wrote:
Is it normal when all the nerve block has worn off that when you stand after lying down for a few hours the blood rush to...
Is it normal when all the nerve block has worn off that when you stand after lying down for a few hours the blood rush to your knee makes it feel like it's about to explode? That's some pain!
Some of the greatest pain I've ever experienced in my life.
MPM64
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MPM64 11/15/2009 8:04pm
11/15/2009 8:04pm
In regards to catheters...1983 at LL I crashed and compression fractured some vertebrae in my back.

Got the ambulance ride to a hospital in Nashville.

The ER nurse asks me if I need to "empty my bladder". I said no, I'm good...Wrong answer.

Next thing I know a nurse that looks like the lady on the Aunt Jemima pancake syrup bottle comes in and sets me up with a catheter. She assures me this is the smallest tube they make and shoves it in. Pure hell going in and coming out when wide awake with no pain meds in the ER.

A word of advice to all moto brothers. If you have a suspected back injury and feel like you can always tell the ER nurse you can take a piss.

Good luck with the knee.
swizcore
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swizcore 11/15/2009 8:08pm
11/15/2009 8:08pm
swizcore wrote:
Is it normal when all the nerve block has worn off that when you stand after lying down for a few hours the blood rush to...
Is it normal when all the nerve block has worn off that when you stand after lying down for a few hours the blood rush to your knee makes it feel like it's about to explode? That's some pain!
CamP wrote:
Some of the greatest pain I've ever experienced in my life.
Ok thanks Cam, Just wanted to be sure she wasnt going all gang green on me Smile .

Thanks David!

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