To have one family member have a operation would not be anything to difference to hear about in society today, but to hear about a family with four daughters who required the same operation for the same injury and finally having the same surgeon do the procedure would be very unusual to say the least. With this extraordinary development questions needed to be answer to understand why this may have happened to four sisters.

Is this type of injury hereditary?

No it is not but under the circumstances you may think this because of the situation your family has found it self in. This injury is not like let say gout that is hereditary in some cases. Remember this knee ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) is an injury that happens while doing aggressive movements in sports causing the knee area to twist awkwardly. Gout is a painful form of arthritis that means to have inflammation of the joints. This injury the ACL is very common in running, jumping and contact sports.

Would each daughter go through the same operation?

The first injuries were done by identical twin sisters, they had the same procedure done to different knees, one did her left ACL the other her right ACL. They also had the same surgeon who is the top in his field of knee and tumour injuries perform the operation. The twins went through the exact same procedure on different knees making their surgeon the first in his field to operate on identical twins with identical injuries on the same day. As for the other two sisters when their injuries occurred they also went through the same surgical process as their twin sisters with the same surgeon. It was a situation that the surgeon had not heard of in one family before in this country. with each sister having the same operation performed to their knee.

How long would the surgery take?

The surgery for each sister with out complications took around one hour per knee. This we know from when the twins first were done each knee had the surgeons marking on it for their operation and also so he would do the correct knee because they had injured the opposite knees to each other. So the surgeon was able to let us know with the other two sisters how long the procedure would be because of the twins, this also helped to prepare the two other daughters for their operation. This also made things easy for the surgeon because the operation on the twins was his template for the other two sisters identical injury.

How long would they be in hospital for?

Their time in hospital was from the morning of the operation and through two over night stays then home for resting. The reason for the two over night's stays was for a follow up on the surgery in case of after surgery complications. Secondly excess fluid built up from the surgery had to be drained from the knee area to increase their recovery and mobility.

When can rehabilitation start?

After a good two weeks resting while having leg elevated they will also need to start the walking process with the aid of there crotches, like back and forward to the bathroom or kitchen or their rooms slowly weight baring each day as much as they are able to. After this period and follow up checks with the surgeon it is time for the Physio to take them through the next step of recovery.

What would their recovery program be?

In all four operations even though they happened in different years the recovery program given to each sister was pretty much 99% similar for the four of them. This included the pre-work out requirements that had to be done before their operations. These pre-rehab workouts were done through their Physiotherapist who was there choice via their surgeon. This work before the procedure was the most important ingredient to a fast recovery for each sister, so making sure they did this work was left up to dad. Working on the quad, calf and hamstring areas for strengthening purposes was the main part of the recovery program before and after surgery. They most also do the work at home as well as in the gym.

There are many answers for many questions that you may want to know here are some that you your self may one day want an answer for. Remember that these questions and answers may be what you are looking for, but then again may not be. "Knee Reconstruction Surgery - Key Questions to ask your Surgeon" is another article written that could be of use as well.



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