Not sure if surgery will work

by Nick Ahmed
(Sheffield, England)

Hi. I am a 25 year old male. I completely ruptured my acl playing soccer 2 years ago. The NHS knee specialist said he felt a standard acl reconstruction wouldn't work because one, it was a complete rupture and two, he felt I was bow-legged and the reconstruction would stretch out over time. Therefore, he said the only way it may work would be to break my leg first to get it straight, recover and then do the acl reconstruction.

Now for the last two years, I have undergone a lot of physio, I can do running, swimming, climbing and even tennis with little or no pain at all, I only waer a basic (material style) knee support and my hamstrings are strong. The knee has given way once in 2 years and that was when I couldn't resist trying a game of 5 a-side football, silly I know, but I had to try. Even after that, it was fine again after a few weeks. I have come to the stage now where I am sick of not being able to play soccer as I had done it all my life, and I miss going on skiing holidays as well. I want to get a second opinion from another surgeon to see if he feels its possible to have the acl reconstruction without breaking my leg. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Nick