AJ ruptured ACL ?

[magic.merkin]

I would prefer that such a young fella go down the traditional path but, hey, I am not a surgeon (except for the occasional splinter) and there is the fact that windows of premiership opportunity are not always as open as ours is at present.

I'll back the decision that AJ makes. I am sure that our meds will ensure he gets all the info needed to make the right one.

The traditional path is no guarantee, if it was me, and with success stories at the club i'd be going the short route. 12 months is a loooooong time.

[aardvark]

The traditional path is no guarantee, if it was me, and with success stories at the club i'd be going the short route. 12 months is a loooooong time.

and there is a premiership on offer this year.....shhhh!

[magic.merkin]

And that would be the ultimate lure.

[Triple B]

It's fair to say our club has the welfare of the player firmly at the top of the list and I've little doubt that if they go the LARS procedure they are firmly of the belief that it's the right choice.

Our window is certainly open, but with our midfield already rock solid and a core of Kennedy, Jack, Hanners, Bird and Parker having an average age of around 23, that window looks like it will be open for a fair while yet and AJ will get his chance again even if he has the full 12 months off.

[Ludwig]

The LARS surgery has 2 big advantages:

1. It's less invasive. You don't have to take a tendon from another part of your body to make the ACL graft.
2. It's psychologically more encouraging to find that you are on the path to recovery shortly after surgery.

Even though they say you can come back in around 12 weeks from LARS, we know from the Malceski case that it can take a lot longer to get your confidence back and feel right about your body again. It's the same with the traditional surgery, but since you are out of the game much longer, this aspect can also take longer. Not even looking at AJ's 2013 season; if he can play some footy in the reserves this year and get in a full preseason next year, he should be ready to go with full confidence in 2014.

I would imagine AJ and Gazza will become close over the next few months. That's 2 big INs for us next year. Both players will be important for the next decade, but we have enough depth this year to do it without them.

[DLBIA14]

The LARS surgery has 2 big advantages:

1. It's less invasive. You don't have to take a tendon from another part of your body to make the ACL graft.
2. It's psychologically more encouraging to find that you are on the path to recovery shortly after surgery.

Even though they say you can come back in around 12 weeks from LARS, we know from the Malceski case that it can take a lot longer to get your confidence back and feel right about your body again. It's the same with the traditional surgery, but since you are out of the game much longer, this aspect can also take longer. Not even looking at AJ's 2013 season; if he can play some footy in the reserves this year and get in a full preseason next year, he should be ready to go with full confidence in 2014.

I would imagine AJ and Gazza will become close over the next few months. That's 2 big INs for us next year. Both players will be important for the next decade, but we have enough depth this year to do it without them.

The thing with AJ is that perhaps having a full reconstruction is better for his long term welfare.

His injury has got me pretty sad, not even Joey re-signing has perked me up. The notion of him and Gaz being able to be the same players they were pre-injury is not certain. AJ probably will take time, but get there much like most players coming off an ACL. Gary on the other hand is a complete unknown. I can't think of him as a ten year player anymore, becasue who knows if he's ever going to be able to play another game. His injury was horrific and his recovery has been super slow. Like the perpetually injured Tom Mitchell people need to curb their excitement when considering their capacity to be good players. Getting on the park is a good enough start.

[Jewels]

1. It's less invasive. You don't have to take a tendon from another part of your body to make the ACL graft.

Talking to Mal at a function last year, he said that this was the main reason he went for Lars with his last two reconstructions. He said it's the damage done from where they take the tendon that makes the recovery time so long with the traditional op and by going down the Lars path, there is then only one injury to heal and recover from.

[Nico]

The LARS surgery has 2 big advantages:

1. It's less invasive. You don't have to take a tendon from another part of your body to make the ACL graft.
2. It's psychologically more encouraging to find that you are on the path to recovery shortly after surgery.

Even though they say you can come back in around 12 weeks from LARS, we know from the Malceski case that it can take a lot longer to get your confidence back and feel right about your body again. It's the same with the traditional surgery, but since you are out of the game much longer, this aspect can also take longer. Not even looking at AJ's 2013 season; if he can play some footy in the reserves this year and get in a full preseason next year, he should be ready to go with full confidence in 2014.

I would imagine AJ and Gazza will become close over the next few months. That's 2 big INs for us next year. Both players will be important for the next decade, but we have enough depth this year to do it without them.

Assumig he gets it done before the season starts there is a fair chance that with any luck he is playing seniors footy by seasons end. Menzel from Geelong looks like he is about ready to go after 2 full recos and now a Lars. I guess a lot of the recovery is between the ears, but Mals was the first so the result was a bit of an unknown. Rodan was back pretty quick also and he certainly extended his career by a long way. Look forward to seeing AJ playing ones this year. The lad is a star.

[Ludwig]

Morabito gets a hybrid graft

Just when we were discussing the many ACL reco variations we have Morabito reporting that he had a hybrid graft in January. Surgeons love to develop new techniques for their specialties. If it goes well, it helps their branding. If not, well, they will say it's just bad luck. Part of the problem with these recos is that there are so many parameters it becomes difficult to compare results among the various procedures. If something goes wrong, was it the graft, was it the drill hole placement (femoral side, tibial side), was it the fixation screw, and on and on. It's virtually impossible to make a well informed decision in these matters. As for AJ, we can only hope that they get the right surgeon for the job.

Here's part of the article from the AFL website:

"We went for a hybrid graft, which incorporates the LARS with part of your own hamstring tendon," Morabito said.

"The aim of that is to get the short turnaround of the LARS but also have the longevity of a hamstring graft over time.

"Once we had the information, it seemed like the logical answer, just because it did give you that long-term effect if all goes to plan.

"I would not have wanted to go down the pure LARS path per say, just for the fact that I would have felt like I was trying to salvage something out of nothing."

Dr Larkins, who agreed with Fremantle and Morabito's decision, said the hybrid surgery was "essentially a traditional operation with a little bit of LARS thrown in".

He said the operation would have a better chance of success because the 21-year-old would have his own tissue in the knee, not just a piece of nylon.

"I think it's smarter than just doing the LARS," Larkins told AFL.com.au.

"I understood their decision to look for an option that allowed him to play football in 2013, because I think that was good for him emotionally.

"They're putting a bit of traditional (hamstring graft) in, in the hope that will be stronger and last longer than just a LARS on its own.

"I think there's some logic in that."

[giant]

Yep thought the Morabito approach was recently interesting tho given the above commentary around the invasiveness of the traditional approach, you wonder what impact that would have? Nevertheless it looks like Morabito is hoping to be back on deck soonish so it can't be too bad (which is great news for the kid btw, one of the real hard luck stories of the off season).

[Ludwig]

Here are a couple of interesting websites that discuss some of the issues with ACL reconstructions for those interested in the details of knee anatomy. You can see that it's as much of an art form as science.

Footballers have to know what kind of peptides they're taking, what's the best surgery for them and master all the legal aspects of contract negotiations. I don't know how they manage to fit any footy training into their busy schedules.

http://www.orthonet.pitt.edu/content/DoubleBundle.htm

http://www.aaos.org/news/bulletin/janfeb07/cover2.asp

[i'm-uninformed2]

He's apparently going the traditional path. Announced today

[swansrob]

See you in 2014, AJ!

[swansrob]

This makes the opportunity to be given to, most likely, Armstong so much bigger than if AJ had opted for LARS.

[BillyRayCypress]

This makes the opportunity to be given to, most likely, Armstong so much bigger than if AJ had opted for LARS.

Even a bigger opportunity for a rookie to get a promotion for next year. A report I read earlier said that Rampe was the most likely to be promoted.