Class 1 & knee surgery

[thecoltster]

I have had a dodgy knee for a few years now following a ski-ing injury.
My walking hasnt been effected that much however my it has had an impact on other sports and hobbies that I used to enjoy.

Following the injury I had surgery to establish the extent of the damage done and it was establshed that I had ruptured my anterior cruciate ligament.
I elected not to have further surgery as I was looking for work flying at the time.

Now that I am in a stable job I would be intereseted to find out how long I would have to have my medical suspended for following surgery and subsequent recovery time. I am 26 and dont want to put myself or my knee on the scrap heap yet........

Any info on this gratefully recieved...thanks

[Loose rivets]

One of the problems after knee surgery is caused by the amount that the surgeon has to prize the joint apart to get at the inner ligaments. I know very little about the healing time of your actual problem, and you will have to take expert advice on this.

I was over twice your age when I had the lining of the femur [inner surface] removed. For some months I thought that the knee would never be stable and strong again and this had little to do with the bone surface which had been roughed up to simulate cartilage, but more to do with the working space needed.

However, after 9 months, it all started to feel a lot more stable and I took a ‘retirement-job' flying a medium weight turbo-prop with no powered rudder. Taxiing in gusty conditions was a challenge, but the work-load did nothing but good.

I would have thought that you would need about 100 to 150 lbs of pressure strength with each leg to be safe. Perhaps some of the current transport pilots will know an actual figure. [I'll ask the techies] I weighed in at around 200 lbs and finally could do one leg press-ups again*...if that's the right term. Be careful, and take advice of the physio that is assigned by the surgeon. A knee ‘expert' once told me that lifting one's own weight over the full range on one leg, was pushing to the limits of the knee.

*Use of the rudder, will of course, NOT need the full range.

Tech link
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2755674#post2755674

[neil_1821]

that is good advice about the pressure of each leg, however when i went for my class 1 medical the only test he did for my legs/feet was to push on my feet and told me to push back, therefore testing how much pressure i could push back with. Well that's what i am assuming as i cant see any other logical explanation for it.

But you should be ok, younger people recover quicker :ok:

[Eliason]

Hi neil_1821

I guess you are now thinking of getting the ACL reconstructed...

I tore mine 6 years ago skiing, got it cleaned out and had it reconstructed a month after (I was studying at that time - so no problems with being off work as I was able to walk all the time ;) ). Time to heal varies - I was lucky, about a month after the surgery I was able again to do almost everything - easy running, small jumps, driving a car... my doc restriced me from doing saltos on the trampolin for 6 months though (3 months initially, but seeing how crazy I am he extended that period :\ ).

The healing-period varies a lot with the type of surgery you use - and your own fitness. I guess average would maybe be 2-3 months for fairly fully recovery? Ask a surgeon if you know one - or give your AME a call to give you a better clue.

A good page to check out and get ideas of different healing-processes is:
http://factotem.org/cgi-bin/kneebbs.pl

All the best,
Eli