ACL tear

[dr_dre]

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I'd like any opinion on this:

My brother found out yesterday that he has a complete ACL tear in his knee (from basketball). Last year he got a partial tear in the other knee while snowboarding.

His partial tear was never reconstructed and it would give out on him a lot at first but with therapy got a lot stronger and he played basketball fine afterwards.

He's finding that with the complete tear he has much more stability than he did with the partial tear + a lot less pain. So now he's become skeptical of the diagnosis.

His basketball injury occurred 2 months ago and we didn't think it was this serious because he was walking fine, going up/down stairs with no instability, and even went for very short runs + swimming.

Is it possible that MRI results could be wrong or misinterpreted? Is there a point to jump right into reconstructive surgery? We're thinking that maybe the doctor would benefit from doing this surgery ($$).

My main question is, would someone with a completely torn ACL be able to walk around + go up and down stairs fine....it just doesn't seem to add up.

Any info or similar stories or anything is appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

So let me get this straight. A board certified orthopaedic surgeon examined your brother, got an MRI which confirmed his diagnosis... and you're looking for a second opinion from an anonymous online chatroom?

 

[OncoCaP]

Have you tried googling ACL tear? Seems like what you are describing fits with what I see on the web, e.g.,

http://www.jointhealing.com/pages/knee/acl1.html
http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/aclrepain/a/acl_2.htm
http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/aclrepain/a/acldecision.htm

Do I Need ACL Surgery?

Pros

Allows return to high-level athletic activity
May protect future damage to the knee cartilage
Offers a near-normal knee
Cons

Surgery is not 100% effective -- some people don't improve
Many activities can be accomplished without an ACL
There are complications that may occur
Current Recommendations
ACL reconstruction surgery should be considered for all individuals who desire a return to sports or activities that require lateral pivoting of the knee, or those who experience recurrent instability of the knee.

 

[PlasticMan]

Since you're a med student, you prolly have seen some MRI's already. If you're that skeptical, how about asking to see the tear on the MRI?

 

[deleted77919]

SDN is not for medical advice. If you want a second opinion, see another doctor.

 

[indo]

he's gonna see some extra miniscal damage with the extra tibial motion. But, get those MRI results sent to another doctor for a second opinion.

 

[DrMom]

SDN is not for medical advice. If you want a second opinion, see another doctor.

Yep.

Closing.