Going under general anaesthetic is always an interesting experience. Least of all when the last time you did there was a complication and a 90 minute procedure turned into a 3 hour ordeal. This time around there was plenty of banter with the anaethiest who informed me that the the primary drug used to put you to sleep is now affectionately known as "Jacko Juice''. So called because it was what Michael Jackson's doctor allowed the ''one handed glove one'' to utitlise for his private use the night he died. When you realise how powerful the 'juice' is you come to understand the irresponsibility of letting anyone use it unsupervised.
An ACL reconstruction is not a simple operation nor one for the faint hearted. Note to self. Don't ''Youtube' the procedure the night before going in. For those who want to here's the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLFTXHfGmo0
It makes for gruesome viewing. In short the operation I was to have entailed shaving out the remnants of my ACL and replacing it with a graft taken from my hamstring. That's right, my hamstring. The surgeon slices a 20cm length of my hamstring and extracts it from the leg via the thigh. His assistant then attaches several anchors and screws to it before handing the hamstring back to my surgeon who inserts it back into my knee via a tunnel he has drilled through my femur. All rather pleasant. The surgeon then attaches one end of the graft via an anchor screw to the back of my knee where the ACL originally was and pulls it up through the same avenue to replace the original ACL. Been a graft from a healthy part of my hamstring and having been doubled over the new 'ACL' is as strong if not stronger than the original ACL. Time of operation is just under 2 hours. During the process the surgeon also shaved my cartilage as I had torn it on both the outside and inside of my knee during my fall back on March 2. If you are going to to do a job on your knee do it properly I say !
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| Pre operation and pre shave |
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| Shaved and ready for the scalpel |
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| 4 hours post-op |
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