Comments on: Patellar vs Hamstring http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/ Unbiased ACL Surgery Advice and Information from REAL patients. Thu, 17 May 2012 01:10:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Jason http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2568 Jason Thu, 17 May 2012 01:10:23 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2568 Tore my acl and just wondering which would be best. I compete in strongman contests with no plans on going pro, its just for fun. Some of events demand walking with heavy weight, heavy squatting and deadlifting, also I like to do olympic lifts, clean and jerk and the snatch which involve ass to grass depth. I want to get back to heavy lifting so what's the best choice. Tore my acl and just wondering which would be best. I compete in strongman contests with no plans on going pro, its just for fun. Some of events demand walking with heavy weight, heavy squatting and deadlifting, also I like to do olympic lifts, clean and jerk and the snatch which involve ass to grass depth. I want to get back to heavy lifting so what’s the best choice.

]]> By: Kay Moore http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2551 Kay Moore Sat, 05 May 2012 16:56:07 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2551 Just wondering which procedure you went with for your daughters acl tear and your experience. Thanks! Just wondering which procedure you went with for your daughters acl tear and your experience.
Thanks!

]]> By: Kevin http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2550 Kevin Thu, 03 May 2012 16:26:07 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2550 Hi, I am 42 yrs old and just blew out my left ACL this week playing soccer with the kids. I was not doing anything intense, just landed badly and twisted... I heard the dreaded "pop" and with the accompanied swelling, I knew it was bad luck and bad news. I tore my right ACL more than 20 yrs ago in 1991 playing soccer and had patellar tendon reconstruction done in 1994. So I have been through this before. Meniscus complications meant another operation later that year. I believe my delayed surgery and improper initial diagnosis did not help. I continued to play sports (even skiing) after the injury and I am sure that damaged my meniscus. I opted for surgery in 1994 a few years later, when my knee kept buckling and my ACL was shown to have almost completely disappeared. Back in those days, the patellar tendon was the only real choice. I don't think my rehab was good (not intensive enough, methods back in those days not as advanced, problems with range of motion and scar tissue). I did not regain full range of motion in my right knee for years and there was a lot of pain with kneeling. Years later, deep tissue massage proved effective in restoring range of motion. The patellar tendon however has held up well and feels "strong" and stable, but my right knee still feels pain when kneeling. So, similar to most comments on this site, I have experienced both the knee pain and also the strength of the graft. Now with my left knee ACL gone, my new surgeon recommends an allograft. This site has been really useful; hopefully, this time around, I will be much better educated and also prepare my body properly before deciding on any surgery. I still have not decided which route to go... for me, I am leaning towards hamstring vs allograft as the knee pain I experienced from the patellar tendon route 20 years ago still haunts me. The other consideration is what sports I will continue to pursue. I gave up competitive soccer long ago. All I really want to do now is surf and do some yoga (hence knee pain is an issue), and maybe play some golf. So I wonder also which reconstruction might be appropriate. The question I want to ask is, have any of you considered the route of no surgery at all, but rehabilitation and strengthening of the leg generally? I wonder how people who opted out of surgery are coping? Also, like many of you here, I have lost both my ACLs. I wonder if there is some genetic predisposition to this. Any suggestions or thoughts would be welcome. Hi, I am 42 yrs old and just blew out my left ACL this week playing soccer with the kids. I was not doing anything intense, just landed badly and twisted… I heard the dreaded “pop” and with the accompanied swelling, I knew it was bad luck and bad news.

I tore my right ACL more than 20 yrs ago in 1991 playing soccer and had patellar tendon reconstruction done in 1994. So I have been through this before. Meniscus complications meant another operation later that year. I believe my delayed surgery and improper initial diagnosis did not help. I continued to play sports (even skiing) after the injury and I am sure that damaged my meniscus.

I opted for surgery in 1994 a few years later, when my knee kept buckling and my ACL was shown to have almost completely disappeared. Back in those days, the patellar tendon was the only real choice. I don’t think my rehab was good (not intensive enough, methods back in those days not as advanced, problems with range of motion and scar tissue). I did not regain full range of motion in my right knee for years and there was a lot of pain with kneeling. Years later, deep tissue massage proved effective in restoring range of motion. The patellar tendon however has held up well and feels “strong” and stable, but my right knee still feels pain when kneeling.

So, similar to most comments on this site, I have experienced both the knee pain and also the strength of the graft. Now with my left knee ACL gone, my new surgeon recommends an allograft.

This site has been really useful; hopefully, this time around, I will be much better educated and also prepare my body properly before deciding on any surgery. I still have not decided which route to go… for me, I am leaning towards hamstring vs allograft as the knee pain I experienced from the patellar tendon route 20 years ago still haunts me. The other consideration is what sports I will continue to pursue. I gave up competitive soccer long ago. All I really want to do now is surf and do some yoga (hence knee pain is an issue), and maybe play some golf. So I wonder also which reconstruction might be appropriate.

The question I want to ask is, have any of you considered the route of no surgery at all, but rehabilitation and strengthening of the leg generally? I wonder how people who opted out of surgery are coping?

Also, like many of you here, I have lost both my ACLs. I wonder if there is some genetic predisposition to this.

Any suggestions or thoughts would be welcome.

]]> By: Michelle http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2540 Michelle Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:31:55 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2540 Hi Suzanne, Glad to hear that everything went so well for you. I'm in the process of looking for a surgeon. Is your surgeon in VA and, if so, would you kindly let me know his name? Hi Suzanne,

Glad to hear that everything went so well for you. I’m in the process of looking for a surgeon. Is your surgeon in VA and, if so, would you kindly let me know his name?

]]> By: Sissy http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2536 Sissy Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:36:50 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2536 I am having my ACL opperation tomorrow and the doc is using hamstring graft, it all depends on how intense your rehab is I am 17 and a semi professional freestyle skier, you have to do your rehab properly to make sure that you dont do it again, if you havent snapped it after 2 years of having the opperation it can become stronger than your origional ACL (providing rehab is done) . My boyfriend is also having the surgery tomorrow but having the patella graft so will be intresting to see who has the better outcome! I am having my ACL opperation tomorrow and the doc is using hamstring graft, it all depends on how intense your rehab is I am 17 and a semi professional freestyle skier, you have to do your rehab properly to make sure that you dont do it again, if you havent snapped it after 2 years of having the opperation it can become stronger than your origional ACL (providing rehab is done) . My boyfriend is also having the surgery tomorrow but having the patella graft so will be intresting to see who has the better outcome!

]]> By: Brian http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2535 Brian Mon, 16 Apr 2012 02:05:51 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2535 As I noted above, I have had both the Petellar Autograft and a Hamstring Autograft. I can tell you my doc expressed that there are 4 different hamstring tendons and that he won't use one of them (the gracilis) because he does not feel it is strong enough and more likely to fail. He used a semitendinosus autograft from my hamstring along with my petellar tendon autograft. There is definitely more pain from the petellar harvest site up front, but at about 6 weeks post surgery I think it is a toss up. My petellar harvest site has healed better and seems strong; however, it is more sensitive to pain from heavy pressure. My hamstring harvest site hasn't healed as nicely, but there is really no pain there. The hamstring is still noticeably weak though. Just sharing my experience and hoping it helps. As I noted above, I have had both the Petellar Autograft and a Hamstring Autograft. I can tell you my doc expressed that there are 4 different hamstring tendons and that he won’t use one of them (the gracilis) because he does not feel it is strong enough and more likely to fail. He used a semitendinosus autograft from my hamstring along with my petellar tendon autograft. There is definitely more pain from the petellar harvest site up front, but at about 6 weeks post surgery I think it is a toss up. My petellar harvest site has healed better and seems strong; however, it is more sensitive to pain from heavy pressure. My hamstring harvest site hasn’t healed as nicely, but there is really no pain there. The hamstring is still noticeably weak though. Just sharing my experience and hoping it helps.

]]> By: Pav http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2532 Pav Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:23:55 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2532 But heres the thing. If i go with the hamstring surgery they will have to take the graft from my other leg and then ill have two legs injured instead of one.. But heres the thing. If i go with the hamstring surgery they will have to take the graft from my other leg and then ill have two legs injured instead of one..

]]> By: James Bradburn http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2530 James Bradburn Wed, 11 Apr 2012 03:21:25 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2530 I have read all of the above comments. I am a 60 year old very active male who completely tore my ACL when I was 28. I think the LARS procedure performed in Europe may be the way to go. It is a microfiber graft with pins on either end, and it is supplemented by a muscle graft from either the quads or the hamstrings. The graft won't stretch with time, and the recovery seems pretty fast. It's unfortunate that the FDA has not approved this in the USA. I have read all of the above comments. I am a 60 year old very active male who completely tore my ACL when I was 28. I think the LARS procedure performed in Europe may be the way to go. It is a microfiber graft with pins on either end, and it is supplemented by a muscle graft from either the quads or the hamstrings. The graft won’t stretch with time, and the recovery seems pretty fast. It’s unfortunate that the FDA has not approved this in the USA.

]]> By: Marky http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2529 Marky Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:32:57 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2529 Darcy, I hope you made the right decision. I am a 42 old female and I torn my ACL when skiing. Could you please share with me your experience? Thank you very much! Marky Darcy,
I hope you made the right decision. I am a 42 old female and I torn my ACL when skiing. Could you please share with me your experience? Thank you very much!
Marky

]]> By: Emily Ilgenfritz http://www.aclsurgery.us/patellar-vs-hamstring/#comment-2528 Emily Ilgenfritz Mon, 09 Apr 2012 04:36:14 +0000 http://www.aclsurgery.us/?p=88#comment-2528 So I have actually torn my ACL twice in the same knee. I first tore in the fall of 2010 and used the hamstring graft the first time, and has very minimal pain. I managed to get back to full strength at 5 months. I then returned to my sport, competitive soccer, and tore it almost exactly a year after my first one. I has surgery once again and had to go with the patellar graft. It was a lot more pain the week after surgery (possibly just because they had to got through more scar tissue and it may not be related to the use of the patellar graft). It was stiffer and more difficult to get my full range of motion back. I am now 4 and a half months out and it still hurts like the dickens sometimes. I still am not able to run without pain, and the doctor said that it may take longer to completely recover not only because it the second time, but because of the graft, but it should be strong when it finally does. But MY suggestion is to still go with the patellar graft if you are getting back into a sport. My hamstring graft obviously did not hold, and I feel as if the patellar one might have. Even though it may take a bit longer, I think that it is worth having it nice and strong! But if you're not planning on doing anything strenuous, I would suggest the hamstring simply because it is a much better recovery :) So I have actually torn my ACL twice in the same knee. I first tore in the fall of 2010 and used the hamstring graft the first time, and has very minimal pain. I managed to get back to full strength at 5 months. I then returned to my sport, competitive soccer, and tore it almost exactly a year after my first one. I has surgery once again and had to go with the patellar graft. It was a lot more pain the week after surgery (possibly just because they had to got through more scar tissue and it may not be related to the use of the patellar graft). It was stiffer and more difficult to get my full range of motion back. I am now 4 and a half months out and it still hurts like the dickens sometimes. I still am not able to run without pain, and the doctor said that it may take longer to completely recover not only because it the second time, but because of the graft, but it should be strong when it finally does. But MY suggestion is to still go with the patellar graft if you are getting back into a sport. My hamstring graft obviously did not hold, and I feel as if the patellar one might have. Even though it may take a bit longer, I think that it is worth having it nice and strong! But if you’re not planning on doing anything strenuous, I would suggest the hamstring simply because it is a much better recovery :)

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