How Do You Prepare for ACL Reconstruction
It is important to set appointments with your doctor and surgeon before you undergo surgery. Your doctor will explain treatment options, recommend various knee examinations, and decide which type of anesthesia is used during surgery. It would help to ask your doctor questions during the appointments.
You will discuss with your surgeon where the surgically-implemented tendons will come from. In most cases, doctors usually get these tendons from:
- Cadaver: Tissue from a dead body, which is known as an allograft
- Hamstring: The tendon that connects the long muscles (hamstrings) in the back of your leg to the back of your knee.
- Patellar tendon: This is the tendon that connects the bottom of your knee cap, or patella, to your tibia.
- Quadriceps: A tendon from the front of the thigh. Doctors only use this tendon for taller or heavier patients, or people who have had unsuccessful grafts.
Tissues from cadavers are thoroughly screened and tested for diseases before surgery. Talk to your doctor if you have any problems with using cadaver tissue. Your doctor will give you various instructions for the day of your surgery, such as fasting for about 12 hours before surgery and avoiding blood-thinning drugs [4] or aspirin. [5] It is important you follow these instructions.
It would help if someone comes with you on the day of your surgery. Having another person listen to post-operative instructions and drive you home will help facilitate recovery.