Otis knee surgery Videos

+冯凯 Thanks, you too!

+moldygiraffe Thank you, you too

+samburumayor Nice! Good luck with everything.

+moldygiraffe Yep, last Thursday. They took the bandage off me and made me bend my knee just a bit. I can't walk by myself, but I'm dominating the crutches. I am starting with therapy on Monday and my next check up is in about 3 weeks.

+samburumayor Thanks! Did you have your first post-op check up yet?

+Miguel Armijos Haha thanks. The common exercises to do right after ACL surgery can stress a new PCL graft, so we did the PCL first to give it a head start on healing.

+duncantee No problem! I had a unique situation where I was still playing sports (pick-up basketball mostly, for hours on end, 3-4 nights a week) while my ACL and PCL were torn. I actually didn't know they were fully ruptured until I received an updated MRI before the first surgery. I also (occasionally and inconsistently) lifted weights (squats, deadlifts, and bench press). About two weeks or so before my first surgery (PCL in August 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WETC9SulOS0), I started doing the exercises I knew I was going to be doing immediately after the surgery such as straight leg lifts, quad sets, ankle pumps, in addition to some body weight squats, lunges, and calf raises. I'm in no rush to return to sports because I'm trying to discipline myself into waiting for the graft to fully heal and incorporate, so I'm targeting at least 12 months before I return with full effort.

+moldygiraffe ah interesting. Thanks a lot. By the way did you go to the gym/do any sports before your op? If so, when do you expect to return? Thanks for quick replies!

+duncantee Hi, I opted for the achilles tendon allograft (aka cadaver graft). At first I wanted the patella tendon autograft because I've read that this bone-tendon-bone graft is strong and very successful at incorporating faster than other graft options, but there are side effects such as long-term/permanent discomfort in the knee cap and in the nerves surrounding the area.Then I leaned towards the hamstring tendon autograft, but ultimately decided to go with the achilles tendon allograft because after reading more about it, allografts can be just as strong as an autograft. I think there might be a misconception that allografts are weaker than autografts. It just takes significantly longer for the allograft to heal and fully incorporate compared to an autograft.I think the reason the failure rate for allografts is higher than autografts is because athletes return to sports too soon. Using an allograft means there's less surgical work done since you're not harvesting the tendon out of your body. This means your body overall heals faster and so you ultimately feel better, but the graft itself hasn't healed completely. It'll definitely take longer for me to return to my activities, but I'm willing to be patient and let the allograft fully incorporate if that means it will perform just as well as an autograft. If not, then I guess I'll have to go through this whole process again and get an autograft!Good luck with your operation. Let me know if you have any more questions.

+samburumayor Thanks! I hope you continue to recover well!

Thank You.