Follow Up with my Ortho

I had my follow up with Dr Anderson today. He asked me what happened. I didn't know. I told him I never felt a pop a twist or anything that even gave me an inkling of an idea that I'd hurt it. I told him about 3 instances early on in my recovery that could have been the cause, but even then I never ever felt any kind of injury! The first incident was when icing the first time with my dead leg from the nerve block. The second time was when I nearly fell off the treadmill in PT during the first week off crutches and the 3rd was when that woman knocked me over at pt while doing the crane walk. I suppose I recall those most because they freaked me out the most. I've kind of tripped a bit and stuff, mostly at PT doing goofy exercises, but still I never ever felt like I'd hurt it!

Dr. Anderson seemed a little disappointed. He asked me if I was running on it. I told him I couldn't run; I can barely make it down the stairs or stand on one leg and put my pants on. It's seems to be getting worse. He asked me about exercises; I told him that I've been swimming, but that aggrevates it.

He answered several of my questions regarding the MRI, I didn't ask about he the metallic artifact. I guess I forgot.

These are my notes from our conversation, more was discussed this is just some highlights.

What is causing the pain: Cartilage may have healed, but pieces may be breaking off. Cartilage not normal.
The knee is looser and under the sheer stress the micro fracture doesn’t do as well.

ACL tear: Torn at the superior attachment; apparently that's the other end of where I thought it was. Scar tissue may be the only thing holding the acl in place.

Pros/Cons: This combination is not easy to get over and frequently goes on to be arthritis. It is no good leaving it unstable.

Treatment: Clean up the cartilage and assess the ACL and be prepared to replace it.

Options: Looking at the MRI, doesn’t think there is another option.