This page shows results of two different ACL surveys / polls.
1. Graft Choice Survey
Which graft do you think is best?
49% Hamstring (128 votes)
30% Patella (79 votes)
21% Allograft / Cadaver (53 votes)
ACL Surgery Graft Preference. Total Votes: 260
In a survey on ACL surgery graft preference was conducted between January 2011 and November 2011 among 260 website visitors, nearly half of the voters (49%) chose the hamstring graft as the best graft. Patella and allograft choices made up the remaining (51%). Voters did so voluntarily and it allowed only 1 vote per visitor (tracking and blocking IP address from repeat votes).
2. ACL Surgery Survey (8 questions)
Here are final results to an ACL survey of 62 respondents who say they had ACL surgery, conducted online from Dec. 2 – Dec. 23, 2010. Survey was administered by Survey Monkey.
1. Overall, how satisfied are you with your ACL surgery?
81% of the respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with their surgery. Only the minority (8%) were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied.
2. What graft did you choose for your ACL surgery?
The majority (56%) of survey respondents chose hamstring over the alternatives. Patellar was chosen by 32% of respondents. The ‘other’ choice was chosen for a few who had both done either in the same knee or both knees. No one claimed use of a synthetic graft.
3. Overall, which graft do you think is best for ACL surgery?
With percentages similar to the previous question, and considering 81% were satisfied with their surgery, it’s likely most respondents think the graft they chose to have ACL surgery with was the best choice.
4. Have you had any screws removed after your ACL surgery?
92% has either kept their screws in, or never had them. 8.1% (5 responses) claimed to have had them removed, but only 1 claimed to be satisfied with it, and 1 was neutral (this question is not shown- was only visible to YES respondents).
5. Average cost of ACL surgery (out of pocket costs): $2,339.43
Range $0 to $17,500
6. How much knee pain do you now have?
Only 1 (2%) of 52 respondents reported extreme pain. 19.6% moderate pain, 19.6% little pain, 15.7% very little pain, 35.5% no pain at all, and 17.6% recently had surgery.
7. What were you doing when you originally tore your ACL?
23.5% soccer (futball) was the most common answer, followed by skiing (13.7%), basketball and football (each at 11.8%). Typed answers occurring two or more times included: wrestling, ultimate frisbee, flighting (martial arts), and riding motorcycles.
8. What advice can you give someone thinking about ACL surgery?
Responses to the last question are listed here: View ACL surgery tips…
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I had ACL reconstruction 6weeks ago frm today, September 8th, using hamstring graft. Tore it playing a soccer match in October 2009 as i could clearly hear da “pop” and excrutiating pain immediately after…but being as stubborn as i am and not wantin to believe da worst i took, what was a clear misdiagnosis, the doctors advise dat it was a sprained knee(never heard that before) and i shouldnt play footy with my club for about a month. Didnt play again till January, a 5a-side indoor kick about with friends, but 10mins into it nobodoy near me i turned and da knee jus snapped again with da same pain if not worse as before…disaster!!
After my surgery my surgeon came into me and told me there was alot of damage and they “struggled with it and took longer than usual but got there eventually and i now had a Rolls Royce of a knee” (i dont know if thats a good thing or not ha!).
Left hospital after 2nights and started gettin da worst pain ever in my calf musle…after a week da pain was gettin worse only when i stood up tho. I eventually went to hospital and was given treatment for a possible clot in my leg but after an Ultrasound scan a few days later i was told there was no sign of a clot and within a week the pain had reduced significantly thank god cause that pain was worse than any of the knee pain i had after surgery.
Anyway got off crutches after 4weeks, i think i would have been off them alot quicker if it hadnt been for the calf muscle pain, and am doing physio with my physiotherapist twice a week. Hopin to go back to work in couple weeks my boss was on my back a bit with gettin me back sooner but i was afraid my knee wouldnt be up to it as i work in a Niteclub and bar.
I pray to God i get back playin with my club in a few months as not bein able to play again would be an absolute disaster to me
My biggest fear would be if my hamstring graft gave way when playin again as i hear it can stretch with wear or if i did the right knee that would be a nightmare dont fancy goin thru it again!!
I wish all those who have done it the best in their recovery and hope nobody has to go thru it again…once is bad, twice must be extremely disheartening.
The ACL is a far more tramatic and intense Surgery and rehab process. MCL is pretty much cake comparatively.
Wish I had some of this info BEFORE I had acl surgery
i agree fully i had the patellar sugery after tearing my acl at a basketball game i heard a pop and tried to stand up but it popped out again and was extremely painful i then went to the er the next day and all they did was give me a knee imobilizer and i then had two wait another two weeks for a diagnosis and ive already had the surgery and still to this day six months after still cant stand on my knee or feel the whole right side of it
That’s probably one of the worst outcomes/recoveries I’ve heard. Has your doctor given you any reasons to explain your problems?
Nice article, 2 days ago i had acl reconstructive surgery (hamstring). As a matter of fact i’m using my CPM machine right now, got it at 60 lol. Anyways, its too soon to judge the effects of the surgery, but it seemed to have went smoothly. and even though my knee is in alot of pain at times(mostly in the mornings) its bearable and i’m relatively happy i went thru with it.
I was surprised that so few people have their screws removed. It shows that most people these days prefer the hamstring graft too.
I had my ACL suregery…abt 6 weeks ago……n i m absolutly fine….going through my physio….and all s going well……….hope…..so will b bak on track……hw tym wil it take….for cmplt recovery??????
I’m always surprised at how much more popular the hamstring graft is. When I had surgery I really didn’t know much about either technique. My dad and doctor strongly agreed that I should have the patella tendon graft so that’s what I got. My doctor was kind of old school though which probably explains his preference. Anyways, my surgery was about 5 years ago and the knee is fine. Works just as well if not better as my other one. Every case is obviously different, but I wouldn’t rule out one technique just because you read a couple bad experiences online. Talk to your doctor and see which one they prefer or have had the most success with. Chances are they are more experienced with one technique which means a better outcome no matter what kind of graft you use.
I tore my ACL back in March of 2011, thought it was a sprain, but after a year, just didn’t feel right. Saw my doctor, got an MRI, and got the diagnosis. Had my surgery in Oct. 2012, I am almost 6 months out of surgery, had the hamstring procedure, and can’t say that its been bad, been running on the treadmill the past month and half, still feel some pain in the knee, but seem to improve from month to month. I hope to get back to playing basketball in a couple months. My only concern, is that it still gets stiff when in certain positions for long periods of time and can hear a pop or two when leaning on the knee at certain angles. I need to ask my therapist or surgeon about that. Hope everyone luck in their experience, mine is still healing, but hopefully soon….
Tom,
Any issues with the missing hamstring tendons? Can you do a full hamstring contraction without thinking about it? Any hamstring tightness when jogging?
Thanks.
Fidel
Bfee2002 at yahoo dot com