ACL reconstructive surgery and lateral release experience.
As I've already mentioned in previous posts, I would be getting reconstructive surgery for my torn ACL, and I already have. So, I'm just going to share my experience with surgery, so all of you out there who are possibly going through what I went through or am going through know what to expect.
Surgery morning :
I got up early and went to the centre at about 7am to prep for surgery. My anesthesist informed me what the procedure would be and answered any questions that I had. I had spinal anesthesia and sedation procedure done for my surgery.
So, I had the IV needle injected into my vein and that felt like an ant bite, something my anesthesist already let me know before performing the procedure. Then I went straight into the operation room. Funnily I didn't feel nervous at all I remember going into the room and telling my anesthesist and the nurses how cool it was. Then my anesthesist replied " Oh it's very cold? It'll actually get a lot colder once your surgery starts". Your anesthesist will probably explain to you that they usually conduct surgeries in very cold temperatures, just standard procedure. I didn't mean cool in that way, I meant the experience. When I explained that, she said , " Oh! The experience. Yeah I know how to use that word."
Then she went on to perform the spinal anesthesia. Now, there is a lot of misconceptions that spinal anesthesia requires the doctor to inject into the spine when in fact, that is not the case. The doctor only injects the fluid around the spine so it is not as painful as you think it is. In fact, I thought the injection of the IV needle into my vein was more painful that the spinal anesthesia. Comparing those two, the spinal anesthesia was just like a pinch. Anyhow, after that, I started to feel both my legs get warm and I immediately let my anesthesist know that. Your doctor will probably ask you to inform him or her about any type of feeling to look for. The fact that I felt my legs go numb, was a sign that the anesthesia was working. After i informed her, she said " Good". The next thing i remember was the nurses putting the iv drip and I instantly blacked out.
Basically, what I had done was an acl reconstruction by allograft which is the use of a donor tissue , plica resection which is basically the removal of extra tissue and lateral release. I had the plica resection and the lateral release done because my knee cap was misaligned so my doctor aligned it back. If you just have an acl tear and no other problem then you would just have the reconstruction done. I also had a meniscus procedure done which is very common in a lot of acl tear patients. Your doctor will probably explain this to you beforehand.
It felt like I had a nap because the next thing I know, I could hear my anesthesist waking me up saying, " Jade, we're finished already". I wasn't really sleepy after my surgery and was responding very well. My dad did say that I had bloodshot eyes but I guess that was from the sedation. Usually, the nurses will wait until you are alert and then proceed to transferring you to your room. Since I was quite alert, it didn't take too long before they prepped me and sent me to my hospital room.
Pain wise, I didn't feel any pain during the first day of surgery, mainly because my legs were still a little numb but I managed through the night perfectly fine. No pain throughout the night whatsoever. But of course, it's different for every individual. Some people find it hard to sleep during the first night, some say they don't feel any pain at all. One of the nurses did say that I have a high tolerance for pain. So it all depends on your level of pain tolerance.
Day 2 was when I started to feel soreness starting to come in. I also started physio that day but other than that, I managed through the night pretty well.
Day 3 is when the pain really kicks in. I asked my physiotherapist, and he said that the pain usually heightens at the 3rd day, especially at night. I remember I found it really hard to sleep that night and had to resort to a stronger painkiller. But DON'T WORRY, the pain will be at it's peak on the 3rd night and slowly subside after that. After about the 5th day, there wouldn't be much pain and if you do feel anything, it'd probably just be discomfort. That's what I'm feeling right now, no pain but discomfort if my leg isn't in the right position.
Anyways, I've been going for physiotherapy daily and it is really important to go for physio because it stops your knee from getting stiff and maintains your muscles. I am currently on my 13th day and have had my stitches come off today. Was it painful? Well, it was like an ant bite but not extremely painful, at least not for me. I'm not going to say it wasn't because it was. But then again it all depends on your level of pain tolerance. So, this is where I'm up to at the moment. Still doing a lot of physio, still resting my leg a lot and hoping for a speedy recovery. Will put up updates of my knee recovery every once in awhile so stay tuned :)
Surgery morning :
I got up early and went to the centre at about 7am to prep for surgery. My anesthesist informed me what the procedure would be and answered any questions that I had. I had spinal anesthesia and sedation procedure done for my surgery.
So, I had the IV needle injected into my vein and that felt like an ant bite, something my anesthesist already let me know before performing the procedure. Then I went straight into the operation room. Funnily I didn't feel nervous at all I remember going into the room and telling my anesthesist and the nurses how cool it was. Then my anesthesist replied " Oh it's very cold? It'll actually get a lot colder once your surgery starts". Your anesthesist will probably explain to you that they usually conduct surgeries in very cold temperatures, just standard procedure. I didn't mean cool in that way, I meant the experience. When I explained that, she said , " Oh! The experience. Yeah I know how to use that word."
Then she went on to perform the spinal anesthesia. Now, there is a lot of misconceptions that spinal anesthesia requires the doctor to inject into the spine when in fact, that is not the case. The doctor only injects the fluid around the spine so it is not as painful as you think it is. In fact, I thought the injection of the IV needle into my vein was more painful that the spinal anesthesia. Comparing those two, the spinal anesthesia was just like a pinch. Anyhow, after that, I started to feel both my legs get warm and I immediately let my anesthesist know that. Your doctor will probably ask you to inform him or her about any type of feeling to look for. The fact that I felt my legs go numb, was a sign that the anesthesia was working. After i informed her, she said " Good". The next thing i remember was the nurses putting the iv drip and I instantly blacked out.
Basically, what I had done was an acl reconstruction by allograft which is the use of a donor tissue , plica resection which is basically the removal of extra tissue and lateral release. I had the plica resection and the lateral release done because my knee cap was misaligned so my doctor aligned it back. If you just have an acl tear and no other problem then you would just have the reconstruction done. I also had a meniscus procedure done which is very common in a lot of acl tear patients. Your doctor will probably explain this to you beforehand.
It felt like I had a nap because the next thing I know, I could hear my anesthesist waking me up saying, " Jade, we're finished already". I wasn't really sleepy after my surgery and was responding very well. My dad did say that I had bloodshot eyes but I guess that was from the sedation. Usually, the nurses will wait until you are alert and then proceed to transferring you to your room. Since I was quite alert, it didn't take too long before they prepped me and sent me to my hospital room.
Pain wise, I didn't feel any pain during the first day of surgery, mainly because my legs were still a little numb but I managed through the night perfectly fine. No pain throughout the night whatsoever. But of course, it's different for every individual. Some people find it hard to sleep during the first night, some say they don't feel any pain at all. One of the nurses did say that I have a high tolerance for pain. So it all depends on your level of pain tolerance.
Day 2 was when I started to feel soreness starting to come in. I also started physio that day but other than that, I managed through the night pretty well.
Day 3 is when the pain really kicks in. I asked my physiotherapist, and he said that the pain usually heightens at the 3rd day, especially at night. I remember I found it really hard to sleep that night and had to resort to a stronger painkiller. But DON'T WORRY, the pain will be at it's peak on the 3rd night and slowly subside after that. After about the 5th day, there wouldn't be much pain and if you do feel anything, it'd probably just be discomfort. That's what I'm feeling right now, no pain but discomfort if my leg isn't in the right position.
Anyways, I've been going for physiotherapy daily and it is really important to go for physio because it stops your knee from getting stiff and maintains your muscles. I am currently on my 13th day and have had my stitches come off today. Was it painful? Well, it was like an ant bite but not extremely painful, at least not for me. I'm not going to say it wasn't because it was. But then again it all depends on your level of pain tolerance. So, this is where I'm up to at the moment. Still doing a lot of physio, still resting my leg a lot and hoping for a speedy recovery. Will put up updates of my knee recovery every once in awhile so stay tuned :)
Sincerely, Jade
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