ACL repair with BEAR graft
If this even helps one person, then I’ll be so thankful. My experience with the Bear graft was suboptimal at best. I had a 70% tear in my ACL. Doctor suggested the Bear. I looked up a lot online and it seemed positive. Research, though new, seemed solid. I trusted my doctor although he was new to it. He made it seem like it was so much better to keep your own ligament and that recovery was faster and better.
It was not. I am almost 2yrs post op and now need reconstruction of the ACL. From the get go I had issues. I was not able to do any rehab for 3-4 weeks post op. No walking or weight on it at all. I was not allowed to take anti-inflammatories. I got a severe DVT and almost died from clots in my lungs. Likely due to inactivity, swelling and fact I couldn’t take anti-inflammatories because the graft wouldn’t take if I did. Then the slow painful PT. Flexion and extension were forever impossible and the knee was never normal to any extent.
I returned to full activity after 6 months, but the knee would always swell or hurt and never got to full flexion.
Went lightly running downhill a month ago and something terrible went wrong. Sought the opinion of two other ortho surgeons who both stated that they would never do a bear graft. Especially in someone extremely active such as myself. (I am 41, hike, run, rock climb, weight lift etc) they said it’s essentially like putting a bandaid on a stretched out rubber band. I have a positive lachman, knee is constantly in pain and unstable. MRI shows the graft in place but cyclops lesion formed and the joint is very swollen. If I could do it all over again, I would have said no to the bear graft. So many differing opinions. New science is cool but sometimes tried and true is best. Get multiple opinions before you do anything!!!!