Comments on: Patellar vs Hamstring

By: praefke

praefke — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:22:41 +0000

attributed to Greg d…
I had the stellar tendon graft done may 26,2011 n I play arena football professionally n literally it took me 3 weeks to start walking with confidence again n took about 6 weeks to run full speed. I would definitely recommend this graft, however it is a lot more difficult to recover from but as long as u believe in urself n want to be strong again bad enough u will make it, I can promise u that… it takes a lot of hard work n dedication n with that alone u will succeed…I’m back to playing ball again n my 40 yard dash is a lil faster than before the surgery which is a 4.23… my friend ended up getting the hamstring hatred done n says that its very unstable however he has not returned to playing ball again…he says that he has no pain but his hamstring is significantly weaker… I hope this helps u n just remember “believe in urself n be dedicated n you’ll be great some day”

By: Nate

Nate — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:27:05 +0000

It is a misconception that allographs (cadaver) are weaker than autographs (using your own patella of hamstring). In all recent studies I have found (you can do your own search or read the studies in links I provided in a previous post) the autographs actually have a much HIGHER failure rate. Add to that the fact that an autograph is going to leave you with a much more painful and slower recovery and the end result is either chronic knee pain or a weak leg and I have no idea why anyone would consider anything other than an allograph.

By: Kris

Kris — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:39:59 +0000

Hi Everyone,

I am a 22 year old male who tore his ACL recently doing Capoeira. It’s either a major tear or full rupture, either way I need a replacement. I am from Australia and the surgeon I saw was the first to start doing hamstring grafts in Australia. He has been doing them for about 20 years and does around 50-60 a year. He told me the total failure rate is 12% (everything from surgery, infection, re-tearing it). He prefers to use hamstrings.

Basically all I care about is getting back into Capoeira without permanent ramifications or the constant risk of re-doing my knee in. I find a lot of the posts on websites are the extremes of people who re-stuffed there’s but is this most common? Are there not lots of people who get back into active sports and never have a problem again? I’d really like some advise.

My surgeon also said that recent whilst hamstrings WERE weaker in the beginning, techniques have changed now and whilst it is weaker during the first few months it ends up being just as strong. Something to do with the technique they use to fix it.

Any confirmations? Experience? Anyone who has successfully gone back to active sports with no problem? I plan not to rush and take the PT very seriously.

Thanks guys.

By: Luay

Luay — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:17:21 +0000

Hey Ana

Exactly the same thing happened to me a few days ago and its not getting any better. How did you solve this thing?
Thanks

By: Luay

Luay — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:12:15 +0000

Hi Adam,

I’ve done 2 ACL surgeries on my left knee, the first one was Patella Tendon back in 2006 (re injury in 2009) and a few weeks ago i did a revision using the hamstring graft.
I recommend to go with the hamstring graft (multiple strands to give a better tensile strength). My second surgery went much much better than the first one, pain is a lot less and the speed of recovery is unbelievable.

My strong advice to you is to exercise and strengthen your quads & hamstrings as much as you can prior to surgery, this way you wont lose lots of strength after surgery and your rehab would be faster.

Good Luck

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:24:54 +0000

I am a 22 year old male, I tore my acl about a month ago playing soccer with some slight minimal damage to some cartalidge and mcl. I am to undergo surgery. I play semi proffesional soccer and was wondering which metho of surgery is better to get in order to get back to where I was and/or get further, also to have minimal pain with longer amounts of time to be able to continue playing sports. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:25:07 +0000

I just wanted to throw my two cents in here if ya’ll don’t mind =) I’m 19 and I tore my ACL midway through November playing volleyball and I had my surgery in the 13th Dec. My doctor (who is absolutely AMAZING btw =p) actually choose to do a quadricep graft and I have been so pleased with it! After the first two days my pain level lowered dramatically and I was able to put weight on it after just a week and was alking without crutches or a brace after 2 weeks! I am proud to say that it has only been 3 weeks and I am already able to straighten my knee which can be difficult post op. I highly reccomend the option I choose. I hope this helps =)

By: beth

beth — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:54:46 +0000

I just wanted to check on your son and daughter. I see your post was on 6/09. My son is just recovering from a snapped tibia from ftball….we literally got his cast off the day BEFORE my daughter tore her ACL and meniscus. She is scheduled for surgery this week. Before I read this, I was “all for” patella. She is a competitive cheerleader and her competitive season begins next week. As everyone knows, it will be a year before she can compete, taking her out of freshman and sophomore cheerleading. She has been working for this since she was 4 I know how disappointed we all feel and how disappointed everyone else has felt for their kids My son should be “back to normal” in a month. Just need some reassurance on my dauther AND what your thoughts are on the patella?

By: Kayla

Kayla — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:21:14 +0000

Hey did you have a serve amount of pain after the petella graph. I am 2 days post op and man does it hurt.

By: Dina

Dina — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:28:54 +0000

I’m 15 & i tore my ACL on november playing basketball & I’m suppose to have surgery on January . I’m still undecided about which graft to choose . I’m also in cross country & I think I just want to keep running & doing cross country . Which graft is best for my situation If I want to compete in cross country again ???