ACL Reconstruction Surgery Recovery - 4 year

4 years post-op · By: Ryan Hogue

4 Year Follow up!

It's been 4 years since my ACL reconstruction at this point. I've had multiple friends go through the same process, that used hamstring grafts and they all recovered much faster, with less pain. I would highly recommend NOT USING A PATELLAR TENDON GRAFT - I had an MRI with Dr. Annunziata (the surgeon that was on-field at FedEx field for many Washington Redskins games) and he revealed to me that I had a ball of scar tissue undernear by patellar tendon graft - that could've been avoided.

I also learned that a cadaver graft shouldn't be overlooked, as NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers claimed it made him even faster after going through the rigorous rehabilitation process.

I do yoga twice a day on average and have great flexibility - I don't feel like my knee holds me back at all, but there is still soreness after strenuous athletic activity - I'm considering having an operation to remove the scar tissue, in hopes that it will help prevent future arthritis and reduce pain in the short-term. It can be easy to let this become to new norm, which it has for me after 4 years, but I don't like feeling like I'm a lesser version of myself due to restriction caused by my knee surgery paterllar tendon incision.