|
|
Post by atlsoccerdad on May 17, 2021 11:08:34 GMT -5
My 16 year old recently found out that they will need ACL surgery and I have no idea about the surgeon the Hospital is recommending. Im sure they are great, but its a whole new scary thing we are dealing with.
Does anyone here have experience with ACL surgery / recovery, and a recommendation for a knee surgeon ?
|
|
|
|
Post by mightydawg on May 17, 2021 11:21:43 GMT -5
I have not had to go through that but if it were my kid, I would use Dr. Xerogeanes at Emory
|
|
|
|
Post by bogan on May 17, 2021 11:21:57 GMT -5
My 16 year old recently found out that they will need ACL surgery and I have no idea about the surgeon the Hospital is recommending. Im sure they are great, but its a whole new scary thing we are dealing with. Does anyone here have experience with ACL surgery / recovery, and a recommendation for a knee surgeon ? Sorry to hear ☹️. I’m sure oraclesfriend could recommend a great one. Also-Dr Willimon at Children’s is awesome. Full disclosure-he’s a friend of mine. |
|
|
|
Post by oraclesfriend on May 17, 2021 11:25:47 GMT -5
Happy to help. I am a semi-retired ortho surgeon who specialized in sports medicine.
PM me and we can talk about who they recommended and what I think
There are many great ortho surgeons here. The two mentioned so far are excellent.
|
|
|
|
Post by collegesoccer on May 17, 2021 11:27:48 GMT -5
My 16 year old recently found out that they will need ACL surgery and I have no idea about the surgeon the Hospital is recommending. Im sure they are great, but its a whole new scary thing we are dealing with. Does anyone here have experience with ACL surgery / recovery, and a recommendation for a knee surgeon ? Dr. Pombo at Emory is very good. He has done a lot of work with/for US soccer as well. He has done surgery with pro, college, and high school athletes. Highly recommend. For PT, Mike Biller, also at Emory, is very good. |
|
|
|
Post by atlsoccerdad on May 17, 2021 12:33:47 GMT -5
My 16 year old recently found out that they will need ACL surgery and I have no idea about the surgeon the Hospital is recommending. Im sure they are great, but its a whole new scary thing we are dealing with. Does anyone here have experience with ACL surgery / recovery, and a recommendation for a knee surgeon ? Sorry to hear ☹️. I’m sure oraclesfriend could recommend a great one. Also-Dr Willimon at Children’s is awesome. Full disclosure-he’s a friend of mine. We are going through CHOA - but Dr. Willimon was not the surgeon that we were assigned.  |
|
|
|
Post by SoccerMom on May 17, 2021 17:14:15 GMT -5
Sorry to hear ☹️. I’m sure oraclesfriend could recommend a great one. Also-Dr Willimon at Children’s is awesome. Full disclosure-he’s a friend of mine. We are going through CHOA - but Dr. Willimon was not the surgeon that we were assigned. My daughter had wrist surgery with Dr. A. Pendleton, he is associated with CHOA. He just did one of my co-workers ACL surgery last week. He is mostly pediatric but treats all ages |
|
|
|
Post by georgiasoccerdad on May 17, 2021 17:20:32 GMT -5
I have not had to go through that but if it were my kid, I would use Dr. Xerogeanes at Emory DR X is the gold standard (IMHO) for ACL injuries in Atl. |
|
|
|
Post by Whistledown on May 17, 2021 17:26:41 GMT -5
I have not had to go through that but if it were my kid, I would use Dr. Xerogeanes at Emory DR X is the gold standard (IMHO) for ACL injuries in Atl. Agreed. |
|
|
|
Post by reading1soccer on May 17, 2021 22:40:40 GMT -5
Meet Jeffrey Kovacic, MD
Dr. Kovacic is a graduate of Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. He did both his orthopedic surgery residency and sports medicine training at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, ranked as one of the nation’s top hospitals by U.S. News and World Report. His orthopedic and sports medicine experience in Cleveland includes being a team physician for the Cleveland Browns (NFL), the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) and the Cleveland Indians (MLB). Dr. Kovacic also served as a physician for professional freestyle motocross, BMX and skateboarding for the NBC Gravity Games for three years. He has served as team physician for numerous high schools and youth sports programs.
Dr. Kovacic was recently named one of “2020 Top Doctors” by Georgia Trend magazine. His 15 years in practice has focused primarily on the care of injured pediatric patients, and he is a member of the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America.
|
|
|
|
Post by soccergirlz on May 18, 2021 12:29:35 GMT -5
First, so sorry to hear about this, as it can be tougher mentally than physically for many kids. My child has personally been through this. There are a lot of great surgeons out there. I have known a couple that have done Dr X and Dr Willamon. I also know a number 16 y/o soccer players that have gone with Dr Kercher (peachtree ortho). I would recommend to meet with at least 1 other than the one your hospital recommends. I dont think you can go wrong with the 3 above. There are other elements that need to be considered as well when considering an ACL surgeon. You should ask what type of ACL surgery is going to be done. Many believe utilizing a quad tendon is now the standard, but the minimum recovery / rehab is 9-12 months. Some Dr's utilize cadaver tendons, but that recovery is roughly only 6 months, but some believe have a higher risk of re-injury.
The other element you need to consider before surgery is rehab / PT. I believe CHOA has some PT options associated with hospital, but there are also many great options outside the hospital. I would not recommend just going with the hospital recommendation for PT, but someone that specializes in young athletes. you will want to start PT immediately and make sure your child has a good relationship with the PT as they will push them. Some options for PT are CHOA, Physio-Edge(Marietta / Kennesaw), and Julie Sterling (Suwannee).
|
|
|
|
Post by oraclesfriend on May 18, 2021 12:47:51 GMT -5
First, so sorry to hear about this, as it can be tougher mentally than physically for many kids. My child has personally been through this. There are a lot of great surgeons out there. I have known a couple that have done Dr X and Dr Willamon. I also know a number 16 y/o soccer players that have gone with Dr Kercher (peachtree ortho). I would recommend to meet with at least 1 other than the one your hospital recommends. I dont think you can go wrong with the 3 above. There are other elements that need to be considered as well when considering an ACL surgeon. You should ask what type of ACL surgery is going to be done. Many believe utilizing a quad tendon is now the standard, but the minimum recovery / rehab is 9-12 months. Some Dr's utilize cadaver tendons, but that recovery is roughly only 6 months, but some believe have a higher risk of re-injury. The other element you need to consider before surgery is rehab / PT. I believe CHOA has some PT options associated with hospital, but there are also many great options outside the hospital. I would not recommend just going with the hospital recommendation for PT, but someone that specializes in young athletes. you will want to start PT immediately and make sure your child has a good relationship with the PT as they will push them. Some options for PT are CHOA, Physio-Edge(Marietta / Kennesaw), and Julie Sterling (Suwannee). Quad tendon has some long term questions. Many have not switched due to that. I highly oppose cadaver tendon in young athletes. Patellar tendon is what most pro and collegiate athletes have. Hamstring is the other option. A good surgeon will lay out the risks and benefits of ALL graft options and help you choose. You should choose because it is your body (or your son's in this case). I only ever chose for my patients when they could not decide between 2 options and had no preference. |
|
|
|
Post by atlsoccerdad on May 18, 2021 19:37:30 GMT -5
First, so sorry to hear about this, as it can be tougher mentally than physically for many kids. My child has personally been through this. There are a lot of great surgeons out there. I have known a couple that have done Dr X and Dr Willamon. I also know a number 16 y/o soccer players that have gone with Dr Kercher (peachtree ortho). I would recommend to meet with at least 1 other than the one your hospital recommends. I dont think you can go wrong with the 3 above. There are other elements that need to be considered as well when considering an ACL surgeon. You should ask what type of ACL surgery is going to be done. Many believe utilizing a quad tendon is now the standard, but the minimum recovery / rehab is 9-12 months. Some Dr's utilize cadaver tendons, but that recovery is roughly only 6 months, but some believe have a higher risk of re-injury. The other element you need to consider before surgery is rehab / PT. I believe CHOA has some PT options associated with hospital, but there are also many great options outside the hospital. I would not recommend just going with the hospital recommendation for PT, but someone that specializes in young athletes. you will want to start PT immediately and make sure your child has a good relationship with the PT as they will push them. Some options for PT are CHOA, Physio-Edge(Marietta / Kennesaw), and Julie Sterling (Suwannee). I really appreciate this information. Thank you for the thoughtful post. |
|
|
|
Post by soccerislife on May 18, 2021 20:38:04 GMT -5
I have not had to go through that but if it were my kid, I would use Dr. Xerogeanes at Emory Dr. John X is the best in Atlanta. Brilliant surgeon. |
|
|
|
Post by atlsoccerdad on May 19, 2021 15:27:54 GMT -5
I have not had to go through that but if it were my kid, I would use Dr. Xerogeanes at Emory Dr. John X is the best in Atlanta. Brilliant surgeon. Going to visit Dr. Busch and Dr. X next week. Thanks to everyone for helping. It is very much appreciated. |
|
|
|
Post by soccerdad76 on May 19, 2021 15:38:57 GMT -5
I have not had to go through that but if it were my kid, I would use Dr. Xerogeanes at Emory DR X is the gold standard (IMHO) for ACL injuries in Atl. i went to X five years ago for an ACL. I did a quad tendon. I was right on the borderline for using my own tissue vs a cadaver (in my 40s), but being relatively active and wanting to stay in competitive tennis led to the quad decision. Yes, the recovery is longer than hamstring or cadaver, but he thought the long-term result would be better. I didn’t get all of my flexibility back, but that was probably more of a result from not being as diligent as I should have been in rehab. May be a very different discussion for a teenager, but thought this might help. I like X personally, and he’s been responsive years later when I’ve reached out with questions FWIW. |
|
