toboggan accident

[Len K]

was on tail rope on a practice run. Hit a patch of something, overbalanced and fell backwards. Bottom line - tore my ACL and MCL, 5 cm fracture of tibial plateau - I am currently 69 - getting feedback from docs that ACL repair may not be necessary to continue skiing (??).

Looking to hear from anyone with real life experience with this injury. Does anyone ski with no ACL?

IS 70 to old for re-attachment? reconstruction? What should I expect?

Len

 

[Jenny]

One of the Ski Divas has an enormous thread about her ACL injury. She did not have it repaired and still skis.

Learning to be a coper without an ACL

As some of you know, I popped off the ACL in my right knee in early June. Not skiing. The MRI in early July confirmed a fully ruptured ALC, plus an intermediate/advanced strain for the MCL and a 2-3 cm tear the meniscus. The MCL and meniscus can heal. Bottom line is that I am taking a...

www.theskidiva.com

 

[crgildart]

One of the Ski Divas has an enormous thread about her ACL injury. She did not have it repaired and still skis.

Learning to be a coper without an ACL

As some of you know, I popped off the ACL in my right knee in early June. Not skiing. The MRI in early July confirmed a fully ruptured ALC, plus an intermediate/advanced strain for the MCL and a 2-3 cm tear the meniscus. The MCL and meniscus can heal. Bottom line is that I am taking a...

www.theskidiva.com

Yep, she skis well too. And she's not a youngster either if it's the lady I've skied with (several times) who opted out of the repair.

 

[Snowfan]

was on tail rope on a practice run. Hit a patch of something, overbalanced and fell backwards. Bottom line - tore my ACL and MCL, 5 cm fracture of tibial plateau - I am currently 69 - getting feedback from docs that ACL repair may not be necessary to continue skiing (??).

Looking to hear from anyone with real life experience with this injury. Does anyone ski with no ACL?

IS 70 to old for re-attachment? reconstruction? What should I expect?

Len

Many people ski with torn ACL's. If your knee is stable...ie does not dislocate (subluxate) when stressed, you may be a great candidate for leaving it as is and doing some PT. If the knee is unstable it needs to be fixed IMO. Finding a doc who will do a reconstruction might take awhile but should be doable.

 

[Plai]

My wife blew her ACL and had a partial tear of the MCL New Year's Eve 2019.

Her ACL was replaced early Feb, after the significant swelling from the original injury went down. Her knee was not steady w/o the surgery. Her doctor said the repaired knee tested stable on the operating table. Before the surgery, they also thought the MCL was a full tear, and planned on replacing that too. During surgery, it was discovered as a partial tear, so left to heal on its own.

She says the doctor says 6-9 months after surgery until the knee will be strong enough for skiing again. My wife thinks her doctor is aggressive with PT and recovery time table. She plans to re-enter skiing very gently. My wife is mid-50s, mostly unathletic, and is a timid skier.

One motivation for the surgery, the tears can lead to early onset arthritis. This was something my wife did want to avoid (as much as possible).

HTH and good luck on whatever you decide.

 

[mdf]

I skied a few years without an ACL, but the knee would momentarily go out a couple times a year. Got it fixed after a painful meniscus tear. The cumulative loosening probably was a contributing factor. But then, the tear was not diagnosed correctly and I did not do PT.

After surgery, I reformed and started rehabbing religiously.

I blew my other ACL a few years later (hit a hidden stump under the snow) and had that fixed as soon as the swelling went down. That was around age 60.

I know the no-ACL skier mentioned above. She is a good skier but not particularly aggressive. On the other extreme, there used to be a high-level Jackson instructor without an ACL.

PT is good whether you have surgery or not. So "pre-hab" the injury, and see if it is stable. If not, get it fixed. If your surgeon is reluctant, find an older surgeon who skis.

 

[kayco53]

Sorry to hear. Would much rather be in the handles than tail rope. We have a of instructor in his mid 60's and he has a brace that is spring loaded. Hear it really helps. He is a awesome skier.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Surgery for the tibia plateau stabilization? Is the ACL torn or severed? Can they repair that while putting a plate into the tibia?

 

[VickieH]

In my mid-50s, I had a fractured proximal tibia and torn ACL. In the MRI, they could see the ACL but could not tell how much it was torn. Doctor said these injuries require opposite treatments -- the fracture needs to be immobilized and bear no weight, the ACL needs to be exercised.

The bone had to heal first. I was on crutches with full leg brace for 6 weeks, plus PT. The hardest part of this was knowing that if the ACL was damaged enough that my knee would not be stable, I would be back to Square One with surgery and rehab.

Six weeks later, he manually tested both legs to compare function of the ACLs. He could not feel any slack in the injured ACL. He said I don't have all of that ACL, but what I have seems to work fine. He prescribed a hinged brace for skiing -- and only for skiing.

Had I severed the ACL, it may have been a whole different story. But with it partially intact, it came down to function.

 

[Len K]

thanks to everyone for advice. I have spoken with three surgeons ans they all recommend i sit it out for two months to allow knee and MCL to heal. Then we will reassess the knee.

BTW, I expect this will end up costing me about $6,000 (deductibles and copays). The resort i work at has no coverage for volunteer patrollers. I sent in a suggestion to the NSP board (RFA 06-20) that they should:
a) work with the resorts to provide coverage for volunteers and
b) work with a major insurer to offer a patroller accident policy through the NSP.

I you agree, let your NSP rep know you support this.

Len