Hi. I Had A Surgery For ACL And MCL Tear.

Posted on Mon, 23 Sep 2019

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Mon, 23 Sep 2019 Answered on

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Question : Hi. I had a surgery for ACL and MCL tear. One year post surgery my ROM is at 110 degrees. My surgeon says it might be due to scar tissue formation and that I might need to do manipulation under anaesthesia or knee surgery to remove scar tissue. Is there any non surgical treatment available for this? Thanks.

Answered by Dr. AJEET SINGH (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Knee arthrofibrosis

Detailed Answer:
Hi....
Welcome to "Ask a Doctor"service.
I am Dr Ajeet XXXXXXX

I have gone through your query and here is my opinion.

Scar tissue is formed in response to an injury and is very commonly seen following knee surgery, including ACL/MCL reconstruction.
This leads to formation of contractures and a condition called joint arthrofibrosis where ROM significantly decreases.

The conservative treatment of knee arthrofibrosis revolves around the use of bracing and aggressive physical therapy.
If this does not improve the symptoms and ROM,either manipulation under anaesthesia or surgery of contracture (to remove the scar tissue) is done.
In extreme cases,joint replacement is considered.

As per your narration,probably the conservative efforts have exhausted so your clinician has suggested the surgical option.

Hope that I have answered your query.
If you have any doubts,please let me know.

Stay healthy and stay blessed.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T