Rebuilding My Knee: A First-Person Journey Through ACL Reconstruction and Recovery

Last Friday—after an almost three-year wait—I finally had ACL reconstruction surgery on my right knee. It was badly damaged in what I can best describe as a fluke altercation. Now, stuck in recovery for the foreseeable future, I figured there’s no better time to document the experience.

Procedure Overview

ACL Reconstruction via Bone-to-Bone Graft w/ Partial Meniscus Reconstruction + Meniscectomy

The operation I underwent was an ACL reconstruction using a bone-patellar tendon-bone (BTB) graft, along with a partial meniscus reconstruction and a meniscectomy (partial removal of damaged meniscus tissue). This combination is typically performed when the ACL is torn beyond natural healing, and the meniscus is also damaged. The BTB graft is often chosen for its strong fixation and reliable integration into the knee joint.

Understanding Knee Anatomy

To fully grasp the significance of this surgery, it helps to understand knee anatomy and why the ACL is so crucial. The knee joint is supported by four major ligaments, each with a distinct role in maintaining stability.

Ligaments of the Knee

Other important structures include:

• Femur (thigh bone)
• Tibia (shin bone)
• Fibula (smaller bone next to tibia)
• Patella (kneecap)
• Patellar tendon, which plays a key role in ACL reconstruction.

The Meniscus – The Knee’s Shock Absorber

The meniscus is often overlooked but is just as crucial for knee function. Each knee has two menisci (medial and lateral), which act as shock absorbers, distributing weight across the knee joint and preventing excessive stress on the cartilage.

Without a functioning meniscus, movement can become painful, and the risk of arthritis increases significantly. In my case, part of my meniscus was too damaged to save, so a portion had to be removed (meniscectomy), while another part was reconstructed.

What Happened? How My ACL Tore

My ACL snapped due to an abrupt twisting motion. Specifically, I was tackled while walking up a set of stairs—my foot was planted, and the force of the hit rotated my knee violently, resulting in a complete rupture.

If you’ve ever torn a ligament, you know the moment it happens. I didn’t hear the infamous “pop” doctors always ask about, but I immediately knew something was very wrong before I even hit the ground.

Leading Up to Surgery

Despite being a relatively healthy individual, I’ve spent plenty of time in hospitals throughout my life. I’ve never had surgery before this, though. To be entirely honest, it didn’t even seem real until a few days beforehand. When you are sitting on a waiting list for years, you have to learn how to adapt in every way because life goes on. I had hit some fairly low lows over this time. For instance, I was constantly reminded of my injury with every other step I took. I was unable to do things I’d normally be doing, such as skateboarding. I couldn’t run or jump to save my life. Work became much more difficult, and I’d often get home with a very sore leg. Due to overcompensation, my other knee was suffering. Winter was the worst, as slipping on ice could be catastrophic.

These are just a few examples. When I say I was on a waiting list, what I mean is there was no set date for my surgery. So it felt like I was in limbo, and I guess eventually I just accepted that this was how it was going to be. Not a nice feeling at all, but what can you do?

This past July, while working my job as a landscaper at a cemetery, I received a call from the hospital (but missed it). When I called back, I was told there was a cancellation; however, it had already been filled. While this was disappointing, it helped remind me that I must be getting fairly close. So when I finally got the call mid-August, it almost didn’t even seem real that there was now a date set.

I would say there was some mild nervousness during the week before my surgery. Not about how much it would hurt, or how long the recovery would be, but more about never having had surgery before; it was an experience for which I had nothing to compare. I guess in that respect, I was also excited. I’d put in my time waiting, and I was finally getting fixed. And any pain thereafter would be good pain—like pain on the road to healing, not pain causing more damage.

It’s worth noting that the prolonged wait can also significantly affect mental well-being—constantly living in limbo is stressful. Yet, at the same time, it can foster resilience once you realize the surgery date is finally on the horizon.

The Day of Surgery

Pre-Op: The Wait Begins

I was scheduled in at 8:30am, and I arrived a bit early. They took me in right away, I dressed down into the hospital gowns and did the usual questions followed by a blood pressure reading and prepping my arm for IV. It seemed as though I’d be going in right away, until they wheeled an elderly patient by my bed and I overheard she was getting surgery by my surgeon. And so the wait began..

Some hours later, I was taken into another room where I met the team and students, one by one, that would be working on me. I answered the same questions over and over, which I’ve been told is done purposely to ensure the right person is getting the right surgery and there are no mistakes! I was given the option of being totally knocked out or semi-awake, to which I asked for the former. When it was time to go, I was more than surprised with what I was walking in to!

The Operating Room

As I entered the operating room, despite having met just about everyone who was in there, I was surprised to see the room filled with so many people. They were all prepping and energetic music was playing in the background. I can’t remember what music exactly, but for some reason I was just really surprised. It must be part of their ‘pre-surgery’ routine. And I guess if I was one of them, I wouldn’t want it any different.

I got up on the table and laid down. The image above is not unlike what I saw (music playing in the background of course). I was oddly at ease. I did ask the anesthesiologists student helper what they would be using to knock me out. She responded with propofol. After testing the IV, she gave me the heads up that they would start administering it. I began to feel an intensely strong bodyload within a few seconds. My vision started getting a bit fuzzy, and a familiar visual paradoxical effect set in not unlike that when compared to other dissassociative anesthetics. It is best described by the movement of objects towards or away from one another without any relative movement actually happening. eg. A dot on the wall moving towards the edge, but not actually getting any closer to the edge.

Visual distortion became apparent too. In my case, none of this worried or scared me, but even if it had those feelings would have only lasted a few seconds before I was totally knocked out and waking up after the surgery was complete.

Waking Up - Post-Surgery Reality

I woke up lucid and completely aware, almost like coming out of a nap. Surprisingly, I was in only mild pain, though that quickly changed once the meds started wearing off.

I had 27 staples holding my knee together.

The Road to Recovery

The First Few Days

It’s a long one.. The first three days following surgery I was taking 2mg hydromorphone IR tablets once every three to four hours. The pain was fairly bad. I was unable to support any weight on my right leg, small movements radiated pain from the inside of my knee both down and up my leg. My kneecap felt like it was popping out and resting my leg straight felt as though it was over extended to a painful position. Icing it along with medication really helped.

Simple things like getting in and out of bed, going to the washroom, getting up and down stairs, washing myself, or even just getting comfortable took some trial and error. I managed to figure ways to assist myself in doing these things when I was alone. With that said, there really wasn’t any pain free way of doing anything those first few days.

An example of what I mean above would be geting myself off the bed, I’d position myself on the bed with my bad (right)leg parallel to the edge. By leaning back and hooking my left foot under the heel on my right foot, I was able to lift the leg upwards while maintaining its unbent position by using my body weight combined with the upward push from my left leg. At this point I could shift myself so both legs were no longer over the bed itself, and slowly lower it to the floor. With that said, I am thankful to have my girlfriend here with me and taking good care. After a week now, I can say things have progressively improved and continue to do so. I can now get up and down the stairs on crutches quite easily on my own. This of course includes getting in and out of bed and other tasks one takes for granted.

I suppose I’ll write more about this in the weeks to come.

Photos

Below is a simple table with text-based links. Each link leads to the full-size image. The Description column notes what stage of recovery or content you’ll see, while the Link column provides a clickable title (no direct server paths).

References

1. Image: orthoinfo.aaos.org
2. Text: Wikipedia - Meniscus
3. Image: hopkinsmedicine.org
4. Image: istockphoto.com