Your kneebone’s connected to your HAM-bone….
Tomorrow, Chatter Child will have her torn ACL replaced with a piece of her hamstring. Can you say, ewwwwwwww? We can, but it’s better than an ACL from a cadaver, at least in her mind.
Although the material we read MENTIONS the whole cadaver business, I’m guessing it’s pretty rare, because the doctor didn’t even mention the possibility or offer it up to us as an alternative to borrowing a part from her own leg. Someone pointed out to me that it’s not really a CADAVER, but rather an organ donor. Yeah, an organ donor who no longer NEEDS the ACL, which means they are DEAD. Just saying, is all.
The child in question is milking the situation for all it’s worth, although I understand that severing your ACL, when you are just 15 years old, is rather traumatic.
Me? Nervous wreck is an understatement. Bear with me as we work our way through recovery.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
wishing Chatter Child good luck!
i have cadaver grafts in both knees, and they work great.
Drs either like using donor tendon or loathe it. The grand-poohbah of US knee surgery (Dr Stedman form Vail) decreed donor-tendon ACL repair as ‘problematic’ so orthos tend to shy away from it.
I was ~the same age as your daughter when I had my first one done…at that time they were still taking the center of the patellar tendon. Under advice from my surgeon i opted for the donor tendon because my patellar tendon was only about 2 inches wide as it was. The surgeon said ‘what will be left if i take the middle?’
good luck with recovery, mom!
March 27th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
*sending positive thoughts and prayers your way*
March 27th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
twoluvcats, I went to your blog, and I SWEAR… You’re my good friend PT’s daughter, E, aren’t you???? I really have no idea how I figured it out, but it was kinda confirmed for me when I saw your LINKS. That is SO cool! So you have cadaver grafts, huh? CC was pretty much flabbergasted to find out they even DO that. Luckily for her, her doctor didn’t even suggest it.
Azteclady, MANY thanks!!
March 27th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Natalie my wishes and best hopes to Chatter Child and her Turtle Mama.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Best wishes for you daughter surgery.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:31 am
guilty as charged natalie
hope the surgery went well today.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Surgery went well, although it was more complicated than they thought. Meniscus was also torn and had to be repaired. Very sore, very uncomfortable child….