ACL Tear and Reconstruction

Gena Zyrin suffered a serious knee injury: a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and damage to both menisci. As it turned out, this injury is common not only in motorsport but in practically all team sports, and it happens in everyday life too.

What this injury is and how to deal with it is explained by Oleg Aleksandrovich Koval, an orthopedic traumatologist at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is not only a highly qualified surgeon but also an enduro rider and a good friend of ours.

Doctor and clinic: https://www.ckbran.ru/specialist/koval-oleg-aleksandrovich/

Timecodes:

• 0:28 — Why and in which sports ACL tears and meniscus damage occur.
• 1:43 — Removing post-surgery stitches.
• 2:53 — The purpose of the surgical incisions.
• 4:06 — An unconventional autograft harvesting site for ACL reconstruction (from the shin area).
• 6:01 — How to behave 2 weeks after surgery.
• 7:19 — Medial meniscus damage on MRI and through an arthroscope (camera).
• 7:44 — Lateral meniscus damage on MRI and through an arthroscope (camera) before and after surgery.
• 8:07 — What the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) does and why it needs to be reconstructed.
• 8:33 — Ligaments and menisci on a knee joint model.
• 10:20 — A complete ACL tear on MRI and through an arthroscope (camera).
• 10:34 — What instruments are used and how the surgery is done.
• 11:08 — Graft options for ACL reconstruction (own tissue, synthetics and cadaver material).
• 12:03 — Autograft harvesting options (own donor tissue).
• 15:08 — How an autograft (own donor tissue) is harvested.
• 16:10 — Forming bone tunnels for ACL reconstruction.
• 18:58 — The UltraButton system for fixing the ligament.
• 19:42 — A self-absorbing screw for fixing the ligament.
• 20:53 — Recreating an additional (anterolateral) ligament, which reduces the likelihood of an ACL tear by 50%.
• 23:12 — Gena's sporting achievements after rehabilitation.
• 23:27 — What affects the likelihood of such an injury and whether a flexible gymnast can get it.
• 25:04 — Typical injuries of office workers.
• 26:11 — Can massage or muscle stimulation (electrodes on the muscles) replace exercise.
• 27:42 — The «marble» bone phenomenon.
• 29:15 — Is cracking your joints harmful, and what to do if your joints crack by themselves.
• 30:59 — Can you build up muscle instead of reconstructing the ACL.
• 32:43 — Is it better to have surgery right after the injury or after some time and preparation.
• 33:34 — Does recovery speed after surgery depend on how the patient prepared physically.
• 35:05 — How much rehabilitation affects the result.
• 35:17 — What happens if you get injured again.
• 38:09 — Why rehabilitation takes longer after a repeat ligament reconstruction.
• 42:52 — About artificial ligaments.
• 45:33 — About using cadaver material (allografts).
• 47:44 — Does an autograft (own tissue) grow nerves and a blood supply.
• 53:24 — Minor related issues of such injuries: Baker's cyst, Hoffa's syndrome, chondromas and so on.
• 55:48 — Do braces replace a torn ligament.
• 57:06 — Falling technique: save yourself or the motorcycle.
• 57:20 — Does surgery give a full recovery.
• 57:39 — How a straight leg position affects ligament injury.
• 59:57 — What percentage of athletes return to their previous level after surgery.
• 1:02:50 — What payment options exist for the surgery.
• 1:06:38 — The result of Gena's hair transplant at the RTH clinic.