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This MRI view shows the abscence of a solid black band that would indicate an intact ACL.

To the left you can see an MRI image of Kaitie’s right knee with a red outline indicating the area of the ACL. Not much left to show. There should be a solid black band inside the outline. What we have here is fully torn ACL that has retracted and folded down. Fortunately, it doesn’t hamper the action of her knee. This is important as she needs to regain full motion of her knee prior to her surgery. All of the photos are “clickable” for larger images.

The grey area inside the outline, indicates a meniscus with significant damage

To the right you can see a red outline that encompasses the area of Kaitie’s meniscus injury. Meniscus injuries commonly occur in conjunction with ACL tears. What should be a solid black wedge has uneven grey areas in it. These grey areas are where damage has occurred. Dr. Carr advises that it is difficult to identify if the cartilage can or should be repaired until it is examined during arthroscopy.

A meniscus repair will be considered because the recovery and rehab process will mirror that of the ACL graft. Given Kaitie’s age it would be best to keep as much cartilage as possible but that desire is offset by the frequency of repaired areas being reinjured. That will be a difficult choice to make.

The decision to repair the ACL is pretty straight forward. Without the repair, Kaitie would not be able to return to full speed athletics that include cutting and pivoting. In the next few days, we’ll consider the different types of ACL grafts that are available. Each has it’s pros and cons. More on that later.