Where to begin

So I'm four days post op. The first night was bad really bad and hen the rest of it wasn't to bad. I'm sleepin more and I can almost straighten it and bend it. I can also put weight on it which is amazing. S came over everynight and has been amazing. He has been helpful and sweet. M came over last night and jt and L should be coming by this week too. Today my mom is having stich and bitch which means I'll have to vacate the couch and mosey downstairs. I'm going to start playing with my circut scarpbooking tool which will be so much fun.

And now I'm going to nap, why? Because I can :-)

Ouch

So surgery. It hurts. I was scared going into it. Cc tried to call me down and so did s. My friends were great. I got my hair cut and colored and I love it. Oh and my aunt and uncle flew up from Florida for my surgery. It completely made my day because my uncle was there last time and he knows how to make me feel better. In surgery I guess I had an allergic reaction by tape used to keep my eyes closed and the tube in my throat but yeah so I hurt a lot but it's ok.

what had happened was.....

My PCL story:

So heres what happened. Last basketball season I tore my PCL. I have no idea how it happened or what actually went on. I didnt really think anything of it until I was preparing for this season. While running and doing our basketball workouts I noticed that my knee was doing some funny stuff. It was moving all around and shit. I showed our trainer what I could now do with my knee and not only was she grossed out but she immediately signed me up to see our team doctor. His answer: get a PCL brace and heres a script to see a orthopedic surgeon. So I got the brace and I love it. I love this brace. It makes my knee actual feel stable and although I was still able to make it pivot on its own. Anyway things we're great, that is until a ref told me I wasnt going to be able to play with my brace, and so the stubborn me said "fine, I wont." Bad idea. I ended up making my knee really sore and needed to have another MRI. Two weeks later, I was sitting in Dr. McBrides office. Dr. McBride and I have meet twice before. The first was for the first time I hurt my knee, the second was for when I broke my tibia from shin splints. Well four years later here we were again. Sitting in the office, holding the MRI results, waiting. Waiting to find out what was going to happen next. I have been told by trainers, doctors, and even my mother, that there is nothing that they can do for a PCL tear, and that they probably wont do anything. I didnt do the research on it, I just kinda let it happen. Whatever they are going to do or say, it is what it is. I thought I was going to need surgery, hell i told people that I was going to have surgery, but there was always this part of me that hoped that they would tell me that what I had been preparing myself for was wrong. The one time I wanted to be wrong, I was right. McBride looked at me knee, he watched me do all my tricks with it, ran the same test every trainer and doctor had done on it. And then he looked at the MRI report. He told me that I have a grade three tear to my PCL which basically ment that the ligament was completely torn and away from the tibia. Also, my tibia drops which its not suppose to do. After doing the assessment McBride looked at me and said "out of 100 knees I see 5 are PCL and of those 5 I'd operate on 1 of them. Most people that have a torn PCL get them from car accidents." Apparently Im special. Then we discussed surgery. What there going to do is take my quad tendon and make it into my PCL ligament. Happy spring break to me.

Merry Christmas

Posterior Cruciate Liagment (PCL)

Normal PCL

 

 



Grade III (severe) The PCL is either completely torn or is separated at its end from the bone that it normally anchors, and the knee is more unstabile. Because it usually takes a large amount of force to cause a severe PCL injury, patients with Grade III PCL sprains often also have sprains of the ACL or collateral ligaments or other significant knee injuries.

Procedure

A variety of graft choices are available to surgeons that include autogenous patellar or quadriceps tendon with bone blocks, or hamstring tendons. In addition, patellar tendon or achilles tendon allografts (from donors) may be used. The main portion of the PCL which needs to be reconstructed is the anterolateral bundles. Arthroscopic assisted or open PCL reconstructions involve removing the remaining native PCL, with care to preserve the ligament of Wrisberg if it is intact. A tunnel is drilled at the anatomic attachment site of the anterolateral bundle at the anteromedial wall of the itercondylar notch, in line with the roof of the notch and about 6-8 mm from the articular surface of the medial femoral condyle. The tibial attachment site is then prepared by identifying the normal attachment site of the PCL at the bottom of the PCL facet. A tibial tunnel is then drilled, at approximately a 75º angle and about 6 cm from the joint line, from anteriorly to posteriorly. Once the tunnels are drilled, sharp edges and soft tissues around the tunnel exit site are smoothed off with the use of a rasp. The graft is then passed into the joint and fixed in its femoral tunnel (usually with a cannulated interference screw). The graft is then tensioned distally while the knee is cycled several times to remove any slack in the graft. The graft is then fixed to the tibia, usually with staples, while the knee is flexed to 90º, distal traction is placed on the graft, and an anterior force is applied to the tibia. After fixation, the posterior drawer is assessed to verify a return of normal posterior stability to the knee, and the surgical incisions are closed.

Rehabilitation
Postoperatively, it is recommended that the patient remain in full extension for a period of 2 to 4 weeks for isolated PCL reconstructions. In multiligament reconstructions, the patient is often placed into a continuous passive motion (CPM) machine for range of motion. Patients are non weight bearing with quad sets and straight leg raises in the immobilizer only started the 1st postoperative day. It is especially important for PCL reconstruction patients to not have any posterior sag of their tibia which would stretch out the graft. Pillows or other support under the tibia is required for the first two months after surgery. After 8 weeks, weight bearing is initiated and more active rehabilitation is started.