Allograft or autograft for ACL, lets hear anecdotal reasons. Was:I suck at MRIs

[RKS]

I just turned 41 today and my ortho confirmed an acute complete tear of the ACL and bone contusions. I was glad there was no meniscus tear so I can avoid early arthritis.

My doctor knows I want to return to my active/sports lifestyle as soon as possible and recommended an allograft (cadaver) to cut back on recovery time as well as providing a stronger initial graft because of the amount of tissue available to repair the ACL. He also hinted that autografts (pateller/hamstring) are used more often for the young whippersnappers.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Just curious what kind of boots you were wearing on field turf. I've only played on it a couple times and I just wore regular old Copa Mundials (molded).

Sorry to hear about your injury. Hopefully it's not as bad as it seems.

 

[PricklyPete]

Ugh...sorry to hear it man. I LOVE soccer...have been played most of my life...since stopping ~2 years ago...I haven't had a knee injury since. It has been nice to be able to run nearly injury free...never happened when playing soccer...was always getting side lined for soem injury I received playing soccer.

 

[wheresmybacon]

That's the thing IMO with many men's leagues: so many hackers, and of course there's the thing where you're not as young and resilient...at least I'm not. I love soccer but at this point I'm satisifed with my competitive career and am fine with running and Crossfitting to keep fit.

Again, RKS, hope all goes well with the knee. Cheers.

 

[RKS]

Just curious what kind of boots you were wearing on field turf. I've only played on it a couple times and I just wore regular old Copa Mundials (molded).

Sorry to hear about your injury. Hopefully it's not as bad as it seems.

i was actually wearing the Copa turfs so they have more 'give' than my molded or screw-ins. There wasn't any hack and I just crumpled. The league is a competitive 40+ with mostly ex-college players. Last week they let an 'open' team (18 yo) play one game and they were down 4-0 within 10 minutes.

I don't want to stop playing but I also want to be able to coach and play with my boys.

 

[RKS]

new title / resurrected thread

 

[tcsenter]

If your surgeon doesn't feel that your patellar tendon is beefy enough to take a decent piece from, then that's your answer.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

Depends on your surgeon and personal circumstances. I am 5 months post-op on my patellar tendon ACL autograft. I chose a patellar autograft because I am 25 years old, and I can live with a bit of discomfort but need as much strength/function as I can get (I am an Infantry Officer getting ready for a winter deployment to the 'Stan). If your patella isn't suitable for harvesting, then you may be stuck with a cadaver. Personally, the cadaver idea just creeped the hell out of me. One of the previous company commanders in my battalion had a hamstring graft done and he came back strong as can be. Let me know if you have any more questions

 

[RKS]

I think most of the equation is my age. My ortho thinks I can come back sooner if I go the allograft route; and then there is the added risk of addition surgery when harvesting parts from other areas of your body. It seems like autograft if the way to go if you are in your 20s or 30s.

 

[rcpratt]

What about a ligament from the opposite knee? I thought that was the new thing recently, lets you rehab the knees evenly and allows for faster and safer recovery apparently.

 

[Pantlegz]

I just turned 41 today and my ortho confirmed an acute complete tear of the ACL and bone contusions. I was glad there was no meniscus tear so I can avoid early arthritis.

My doctor knows I want to return to my active/sports lifestyle as soon as possible and recommended an allograft (cadaver) to cut back on recovery time as well as providing a stronger initial graft because of the amount of tissue available to repair the ACL. He also hinted that autografts (pateller/hamstring) are used more often for the young whippersnappers.

I was talking to a trainer at my gym about this just the other week and she had tore her ACL like 5 times and the best/strongest 'replacement' was cadaver and she's also heard that a lot of other people had similar results.

 

[marvdmartian]

One of my best friends had an accident, about a year before he retired from the Air Force, where the ACL in his left leg snapped. He got around without it for ~5 months, until he could talk to a surgeon and schedule the surgery. He had the cadaver ACL put in to replace his, and he's been happy with the results from it. Of course, having to live down snapping your ACL while playing "ultimate frisbee" was probably much tougher than anything else!!

Once he got back from his time off after surgery, and came back to work, I asked him, "Hey, now that you've got that cadaver ligament in you......can you see dead people???"

 

[RKS]

What about a ligament from the opposite knee? I thought that was the new thing recently, lets you rehab the knees evenly and allows for faster and safer recovery apparently.

I don't think they take ligaments from knees. I believe the order is:

opposite patellar
opposite hamstring
same patellar
same hamstring

Pantlegz1: That's good to hear.

marvdmartian: You don't 'need' the ACL unless you plan to do anything more than jogging straight ahead.

 

[rcpratt]

Sorry, you're right. I meant patellar from the other knee.

 

[eits]

cadaver is the way to go for you. had it been a partial tear, you MIGHT have been able to be a candidate for stem cells to repair your own acl.

also, make sure that your ortho is very, very experienced in this. if they're off by a little bit, your knee won't be right and you can kiss your non-premature arthritic knee hopes goodbye.

 

[eits]

If your surgeon doesn't feel that your patellar tendon is beefy enough to take a decent piece from, then that's your answer.

yup

 

[highland145]

Had the autograft when I was ~16yrs, 30 yrs ago. Biggest issue seems the patella doesn't quite track right. Stairs are irritating and the stair climber at the gym is excruciating. Oddly enough, the elliptical is pain free. No running/weight training, pain and swelling. But I did have a torn meniscus X2 after the acl though.

 

[kthroyer]

I was 34 when I tore my ACL. My doctor also recommended the allograft, for the same reasons. I have been very happy with the results. This was about 4 years ago, and at this point, I have zero lasting effects. It took about 2 full years before I felt 100 percent, but it was only about 8 months before I felt 90 percent healthy and a year later I was back to doing everything that I used to. The more committed you are to the physical therapy, the quicker you will be back. I noticed that my knee always felt worse, the less I stressed it. When I was working out, or doing PT, it always felt better.

Good luck with the surgery, I would not have any reservations about going the cadaver route.

 

[highland145]

I noticed that my knee always felt worse, the less I stressed it. When I was working out, or doing PT, it always felt better.

this too.

 

[RKS]

I'm close to the PT location and am fine with fully committing to getting back as strong as possible.

 

[Merithynos]

What facility do you usually play at RKS - I saw SW Ohio and realized I've probably played with/against you.

 

[RKS]

What facility do you usually play at RKS - I saw SW Ohio and realized I've probably played with/against you.

I've played a little at Wall2Wall in Mason and some co-ed in Newtown but the mens league is at SoccerCity off Blue Rock Rd.