Another Surgery Update

Camron Rust · #1 (**permalink**) Mon May 12, 2003, 03:55pm

Well, I had the surgery on April 24th.

See my original post about my injury, if you like.

Doc says it was pretty bad. When I awakened, my leg below my knee was almost completely numb. It was from how long the tournaquet was on my leg due to the length of the surgery. I could only move my foot from full extension to full flexion. I had no feeling or finer control of it. Any contact with my leg felt either like pins & needles or like a vice grip. Luckily this was fading after 3-4 days and is now mostly back to normal.

The first 5 days post-op were the worst days I've ever experienced. Any, and I mean any, bump was pain. My wife had to drive 5mph on the way home from the hospital just to limit the pain (and I was o n two regular Vicodin). After I got home, I was taking two Vicodin ES (1.5x as strong as regular Vicodin) and it still hurt when the bed was bumped. It was the 5th day after surgery before I even got out of bed. Since then, it has steadily improved. PT is tough, even excruciating.

The ACL was replaced with the patellar tendon. See http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05025.htm for a how it's done. The MCL is being left to heal naturally. The Doc trimmed up the carlidge in two places. In one are, it was simply gone, not enough left to fix. The only good thing about this one is that it appeared like it may have been old damage and that I had been living with it like that for almost 20 years (from a previous non-surgical injury).

The doctor expects that I will be walking without crutches or a brace by the middle of June. I'm hopeful that I can beat that date. Release to full activity is expected be around October.

Looks like I'll be ready just in time for next season.

I actually helped ref a very easy game this past Saturday from an elevated seat at midcourt. It was a girls game of mixed ages (12-17, but mostly 13-14) and mostly inexperienced. It's certainly not the desireable view, but for this game, it worked good enough.

The suspected cause of the injury: a wet spot on the floor in a pickup game.

The moral: when players go down, ensure that the floor is still safe.

[Edited by Camron Rust on May 12th, 2003 at 03:58 PM]

rockyroad · #2 (**permalink**) Mon May 12, 2003, 04:15pm

Holy cow! Hope you heal quickly and the rehab gets easier for you!

Mark Padgett · #3 (**permalink**) Mon May 12, 2003, 04:36pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Camron Rust
I actually helped ref a very easy game this past Saturday from an elevated seat at midcourt.

Hey - there's always volleyball, buddy.

ChuckElias · #4 (**permalink**) Mon May 12, 2003, 06:34pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Camron Rust
The doctor expects that I will be walking without crutches or a brace by the middle of June. I'm hopeful that I can beat that date.

Camron, I'm sure you know this, but you could undo all your hard work by trying to do too much too soon. I know you're eager to be back to full-strength and will work hard toward that goal. But listen to your doctor. Don't be too anxious to "beat" his/her guideline. Best of luck to you.

Chuck

Dan_ref · #5 (**permalink**) Mon May 12, 2003, 08:52pm

Camron,

Best of luck on your recovery. FWIW, I've had an ACL & have been "guiding" a co-worker through her ACL/MCL over the past few months (ski accident), her acl was replaced her mcl was left to heal on its own. My first couple of weeks was pretty bad, hers was pretty bad, now you've gone thru your first few weeks. Good luck on your rehab, as you know it aint easy but you'll be fine - use whatever pain pills they give you! I found that aspirin & ice helped a lot after the prescriptions ran out. When the time comes get a good brace & use it. I found my brace fit under my sansabelts nicely & I used it my first season back. Check out glucosamin/chondroitin.