Knee surgery: meniscus, ACL, PCL

[amassi]

Morning
So on 12/28 I tore my meniscus “ oblique tear of the posterior horn and root of the lateral meniscus Bucket-handle tear of the posterior horn and root of the medial meniscus with anterior and central flipped fragment-PCL and ACL complete tear of the ACL subacute to chronic, complete tear of the PCL subacute”

They said the ACL was already torn based on the MRI.
I’m going to have surgery to fix the knee
I’ve had the first consult and the surgeon wants to do 2 procedures- meniscus first followed by PT then the ligaments.

Doing some math that looks like a year recovery as opposed to 6 months.

I asked to do it in one surgery and he seemed hesitant and offered another consult on 1/24 with another surgeon.

For those who have done similar, anyone done it in one shot? At the end of the day I’ll trust the surgeons. But if it comes down to more strenuous PT and rehab I’m onboard for the more intense recovery if I can shorten recovery time.


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[Poser]

My GF had a ACL surgery + meniscus trim/repair, cartilage plug and her IT band tightened up in one surgery earlier this year.

 

[Skerhunter]

First of all - sorry to hear about your injury sounds like you did a number on it!

I did mine all in one surgery over 20 years ago and wouldn’t want to do multiple procedures.

Less time in a brace/crutches gets my vote. I would confirm with the doc the timeline for both and go from there.

It took me 6 months before I was cleared for normal stuff (run/jump) and felt like it was over kill. 3 months post surgery I was back to normal working a very physically demanding job.

 

[OregonSteeler]

Really sorry to hear about the injury and sounds like a significant surgery. Everything should be considered like your age and how quickly you will heal, are you overweight or fit, how active you are and will be after the surgery, etc....

I have my surgeon consult today actually for my torn meniscus. Pretty minor compared to your injury but still affects a LOT of events and activities over the next couple months.

I think it's best to speak with your surgeons and make a decision with them. Everyone's body is unique and handles healing differently.

Good luck and wish you a speedy recovery!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Fewer surgeries is always better if you can do it. I had my ACL and Meniscus done back 20 or so years ago, same thing, they wanted to do 2 surgeries so we got a 2nd opinion. I ended up getting it done all at once by some US ski team doctor and its been trouble/pain free ever since.

When I did my ankle a few years back, it took 2 surgeries, they said I could get the metal out but it's another surgery and recovery so th metal is staying gin.

 

[InkedElkSlayer]

I had a meniscus tear that they cut out. Super simple and back to hiking quickly.

My wife had 2 meniscus procedures and an ACL done at the same time. They cut out a tear, repaired the other, then used a cadaver for the ACL. So NO experience with PCL. She hiked into our spike camp exactly 6 months to the day post-surgery.

What actually slowed her recovery time down was the meniscus repair. They can re-tear easily and because of that, she was in a 90 degree restricted brace for 6-8 weeks (can’t remember exactly) before she could really even begin PT. Basically has to heal, then PT. It took a year to be completely stable on downfall, rockslides, etc.

Maybe the Dr is thinking completely recover from meniscus, then do the bigger procedure?? My wife would much rather have done everything at once like she did vs. dragging it out. On that note, my dad just got both knees totally replaced about 3 weeks ago.