Anterior Cruciate Ligament(Acl)

Cruciate ligaments are one of the four main ligaments that connect the femur and tibia, enable the knee to rotate while maintaining its stability, prevent the tibia from slipping in front of the femur, and move diagonally in the middle of the knee.

Cruciate ligament damage can make a popping sound after injury and impact, and sprains in the leg can be observed when standing. Although not every individual has the same symptoms, knee swelling after injury, pain during joint movement, discomfort while walking, and loss of sensitivity are symptoms of cruciate ligament injury.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament repair operation is minimal invasive operation to repair damaged cruciate ligament. The closed method (arthroscopic) is applied for this surgery. The surgeon takes graft from lower leg to replace it with the damaged or teared cruciate ligament. Generally, the epidural (spinal) anesthesia is preffered for this surgery however sometimes general anesthesia may be applied. The duration of surgery is approximately 1 or 2 hours.

The main aims of this surgery are to provide knee stability and restoring the normal function of the knee joint.

Many people with a torn ACL could benefit from ACL repair surgery, however the best candidates are those of the ones conducting wider rage of activies both in their routine and professional phase of life, mosty athletes from a younger age group who would require a robust stability on the ACL joint, unlike patients from older age group who doesn’t pursue any professional sports career, phyisio-theraphy could be alternative to these patients to to help restore the stability of the ACL joint, other than the surgery.

As much as being classified in terms of their age group and the level of physical activies, the severity of sympoms would also justify performing the ACL repair surgery. Most of the common symptoms are swollen knees, severe pain and limitations of movement that manifest itself with a restricted range of motions.

At its advanced stages, cruciate ligament tear would likely to create a sensation of slipping of the knee, a feeling of pressing into space which results in the knee instability to occur. In the event that the anterior cruciate ligament damage is not fully addressed, it might cause arthritis, of the knee joint, meniscus tear and any potential cartilage damage in the long run.

Cruciate Ligament damages or tears normally occur as a result of any sports, car accident, injury on the knee or any abrupt shift of motion of then leg. Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair operation is performed to repair or replace the damaged cruciate ligament by using tissue or cartilage graft which is taken from the lower part of leg. Generally, arthroscopic method (closed) is performed under the epidural (spinal) anesthesia or general anesthesia for the repairment of damaged part however sometimes the surgery can be turn into the open surgery if there are any complexities involved. A typical Anterior Ligament Repair surgery takes 1 or 2 hours to complete.

Recovery with the ACL ligament repair does almost take 2-3 months for most people, typically, by the end of 3-month, most patients would be able to resume with their daily activities. It is important to follow the instructions and advise of your specialist during the course of the recovery time to prevent any complications.

Strengthening and range-of-motion & balance exercises such as calf raises, straight leg-raises, squats, step-ups are recommended to be done during the post-operative recovery phase to help patients to regain their full strength and increase the range of their mobility during the recovery period.Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories like Ibuprofen could be taken to relieve the sympoms of pain during the recovery period.

• Correct use of prescribed medicines is extremely important for a smooth recovery experience.
• Crutches should be used when walking during the first couple of weeks after the surgery.
• Self-administered exercise programme is recommended to be conducted as per the instructions given by the specialist.
• Physio-theraphy sessions would be started couple of days of the operation during patient’s stay in Turkey.
• We follow-up our patients on regular basis to keep track of their recovery on their return back  to their home countries for up to 6 months to 1 year post-operatively, it is important that patients report any issues or problems they encounter during the post-operative recovery time directly to our clinic with no delay, before seeking any assistance from any third party specialist.

Not only Turkey is one of the leading, top-performing countries in wide range of medical disciplines, it is also one of the fascinating coutries known for its historical heritage and charming hospitality, combination of which makes Turkey a unique hotspot for various treatment options. Having an anterior-ligamement repair surgery in Turkey does come with many benefits some of which could even outweight the benefits of having the same treatment privately in one’s home country. These benefits could be highlighted as;

• High level of medical expertise and well -established medical scholarship.
• Top class private hospitals and use of high-precision technology
• Personalized after-care infused with the distinct flavour of Turkish Hospitality
• Compatitive Prices based on value-for-money equation.
• Perfect setting for recovery where the othopedic treatment packages could be incorporated with physio-theraphy sessions to speed up the recovery process.

There are few important factors that come into play when it comes to choosing the right clinic to have an operation with. Amid frenzy of commertial advertisement campaigns and social media sales spiels, it could prove to an uphill challenge to choose the right clinic that clicks all the boxes.  So what would be the guiding post for your shortlisting task?

It would be possible to identify these criteria as;

• Truthfull medical advise detached from any commertially-oriented interests.
• Making a concerted effort to establish a perfect rapport with the patient to be able to emphatize with the patient and understand his/her concern with a genuine interest to manage patient expecations .
• Putting patient’s well-being & safety on top of the list

Realistic price estimation or the monetaray appraisal of the treatment therefore is best to be done by carefully reviewing the below factors:

• Professional standing of the clinic.
• Nature of the procedure and the complexities of the surgical procedure involved.
• Credentials of the surgeon & overall quality of the after-care services.
•. General terms of conditions where clinical liabilities are clearly set out in an impartial manner in the right legislative format.

Cruciate ligament repair prices in Turkey could vary in terms of the factors highlighted above. Whilst the price could be an important reason to travel to abroad for surgery, prioritizing the price over quality without checking whether the clinic does meet these essential core criteria might cause not only unredeemable problems but also could prove to be costly in the long run. As Prospero medical, we endeavour to adopt a transparent pricing policy where every single service component is cleary highlighted to help patients make an informed decision about their surgical treatments, our aim is to offer the most realistically calculated pricing guideline that is aligned with the level of the medical service, credentials of the surgeons we work with & professional medical guidance that is interwoven with a wealth of experience that comes from a long established presence in the industry and the overall quality of the after-care service that we deliver to our patients at our clinics in Turkey – we are simply committed to offer high quality & professional medical services that commensurate with the most possible realistic price equation.