Today we will discuss everything about ACL surgery. This will help us to understand whether is it okay to delay ACL surgery or not. Then accordingly you can also give a meeting to a Pediatric Orthopedic Doctor for better knowledge.
We will start with understanding what is ACL and what is ACL surgery.
What is ACL?
The full form of ACL is the Anterior Cruciate Ligament.
The ACL is found in the knee joint. It is a major ligament in our knee. Actually, the length of the Anterior cruciate ligament is about 4 centimeters (about half the length of the long edge of a credit card).
The main function of ACL is to prevent the forward slipping of the tibia on the femur. The Anterior cruciate ligament is the main controller of the tibia’s movement.
What is ACL Surgery?
The anterior cruciate ligament surgery is a very common surgical procedure. An Anterior cruciate ligament surgery is a kind of surgery done to replace a torn ACL.
This surgery is also called anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
In this surgery, the surgeons replace the damaged ligament with the new ACL graft tissue. This graph tissue can be the tissue from the patient’s own body, or it can also be of someone else who has donated it.
Long-Term Effect of ACL Tear Without Surgery
The anterior cruciate ligament or ACL tear-type injuries are mostly seen in sports people. This is because they go through regular physical exercises. These exercises may sometimes result in anterior cruciate ligament issues.
An ACL tear can be partial or full. In partial ACL tears, the patient can be treated wisely without any replacement of the internal brace.
The long term effect of partial ACL tear without surgery is somehow having the chance of healing. This healing can be given by good treatment and medication.
Another type is a complete ACL tear. In this kind of ACL tear, the patient has to go through surgery part. This is because the condition of the anterior cruciate ligament has already become very worse.
So in order to get the previous life back you have to go through the surgery without any delay.
Now you must be thinking is it OK to delay ACL surgery?
Then stop thinking and go for it because the risk of not getting an ACL surgery is even more dangerous. You can have a look at given below top risks of delaying ACL surgery.
The Top Risk of Delaying an ACL Surgery
Then Anterior cruciate ligament plays a very important and magnificent role in maintaining the shinbone and thigh bone.
As you know it is so important for us to remain stable and comfortable doing our daily work.
If you want to delay your ACL surgery, then you can delay it for your whole life. But the only condition is that your knee should be stable and comfortable while doing your daily basic activities.
But what if this knee causes problems and affects your stability and comfort?
If your knee is unstable and causing pain and repetitive problems, then you should not delay your anterior cruciate ligament surgery. The delay will increase the risk of severe ligament injuries. Some of the risks of delaying ACL surgery are listed below:-
1) The Risk of Osteoarthritis
If your ACL injuries remain untreated for a long period of time, then it may result in severe problems. One of the most serious problems will be osteoarthritis. However, if you leave your ACL injury untreated for a longer period of time then the chances of having osteoarthritis can increase.
This is because untreated ACL injuries can give swelling, pain, and inflammation problems that will directly affect the joint and cartilage. This may result in osteoarthritis kind disease.
2) Injured Meniscus
If you leave your anterior cruciate ligament injury untreated for a longer period of time, then the inflammation can increase. The increased inflammation can result in damaging the other structures of the knee including the meniscus.
The meniscus is found between the shinbone and the thigh bone. The main function of this meniscus is to absorb the shocks.
3) Knee Instability
The knee instability and chronic pain will not leave your side till you get the ACL injury treated the right way. If you already have a worse ACL, then you should go for ACL surgery. Although if your ligament is in likely fractured mode then treatment and medication can save you from surgery.
4) Injury Will Get Worse
The more you use your knee after your ACL tear, the more your injury will get worse. The swelling and inflammation in the area of the ligament will get worse and start spreading all over the joints and bones also.
How Long Can Anyone Postpone ACL Surgery?
We have explained above the risk of delaying ACL surgery. Now you can already understand that delaying your ACL surgery can result in more complex and painful surgery.
The more you can delay is six months. The time between ACL injury and surgery should be a minimum of one to two months. This is because around five to six months you will notice that you are no longer in a position to even walk and lift your legs.
This will see you easily drag you to the orthopedic doctor for surgery. But our advice for you will be to get your surgery done as soon as possible for your betterment and easy life.
What We Should Not do After ACL Surgery?
Here we will discuss some of the steps that you should understand and follow after your ACL surgery. These tips will help you and your injury to heal very soon.
Putting pressure on your knee after going through our surgery can result in unwanted severe problems and damage. You should not put pressure on your knee after the ACL injury and also after the ACL surgery.
1) Hot and Cold
Don’t apply extra hot or extra cold thanks on your ACL part. This is because this can affect the newly done surgery.
2) Good Position
Never sleep or sit in a position that can harm your ligament part. You have to take care of that surgery part more than anything. Sleeping with a bent knee can drastically affect the newly done surgery in the anterior cruciate ligament area.
3) Shared Everything With the Orthopedic Doctor
Soon after having the surgery, you should be more careful and share everything with your doctor.
Conclusion
From the above information, we can understand that if anyone waits too long to treat a torn ACL, then it will be at high risk. The risk will be of developing chronic knee pain and severe knee problems.
Does the above blog define whether Is It Ok to Delay ACL Surgery? In the above blog, we have also explained how long can anyone postpone ACL surgery.
We will suggest you visit an Orthopedic Doctor in Patna for further roles.
The more you can do is follow a decent eating regimen and do ordinary activities. If you have a torn ACL but feel fine, then you can meet our expert or direct you to a specific path and a good treatment.
Hopefully, this blog helps.
