No ACL's

[Obstructed_View]

ACL = Cancer

[Tully365]

Do you know what happens when you don't sew together the torn ends? The same thing that happens to people like Blair who DO have them sewn together. They retract and disappear, and the other ligaments, tendons and muscles compensate.

It is medically impossible to sew together two torn ends of an ACL. The procedure used in ACL surgery is to either replace it with other tissue taken from the body of the patient, or as in Blair's case, to use tissue from cadavers.

This is one of the problems with ST and this issue-- you smugly poke fun of my interest in it and then nonchalantly explain what really happened in a way that proves you have no understanding of how ACL surgery works at all. Your "understanding" of how ACL surgery works-- going in and "sewing together the torn ends"... is simply 100% incorrect. I'm not a doctor, but I'd rather be interested and open to the topic than self-satisfied and dead wrong (with the enthusiastic support of other ST members!) like you are.

[Spursone]

Enough already about the ing ACL's, your killing my Blair buzz!

[barbacoataco]

It is medically impossible to sew together two torn ends of an ACL. The procedure used in ACL surgery is to either replace it with other tissue taken from the body of the patient, or as in Blair's case, to use tissue from cadavers.

Does Blair have reconstructed ACL's that were done with a cadaver ligament, or does he have unrepaired ACL tears that absorbed into the tissue leaving him with "no ACL's?" I don't understand what the truth is even after all the discussion and it seems like I've read through a lot of the threads.

[Tully365]

Does Blair have reconstructed ACL's that were done with a cadaver ligament, or does he have unrepaired ACL tears that absorbed into the tissue leaving him with "no ACL's?" I don't understand what the truth is even after all the discussion and it seems like I've read through a lot of the threads.

It's all pretty unclear because the only reports that have been released are written by journalists, not surgeons, and they use non-medical jargon. My guess from what I've read would be that he had the surgery that uses cadaver ligament, and his body rejected them. But whether they were rejected soon after the surgery or later (or if they were rejected at all!) is still a question. It is obviously a very strange medical case, and I'm interested to know what the exact situation is. The statement that he "has no ACLs" is a difficult one, because it has been used in the media to describe Sean Elliott and Hines Ward, but from what I've read that description is inaccurate-- they both have partially torn, unrepaired ACLs, but some people have taken this to mean that they were born without ACLs, which is not the case. Reading quotes from surgeons saying it would be "impossible" to play basketball without any ACLs at all makes the case even more confusing...

[Tully365]

Enough already about the ing ACL's, your killing my Blair buzz!

So lemme get this straight... you clicked on a thread whose le was No ACLs and now you're pissed because people are talking about ACLs? Do I have that right?

[sabar]

The procedure doesn't matter. If it was repaired with tissue, then the connective scar tissue that held things together died and got absorbed. With no blood supply, the connector also dies off and gets absorbed. If the ACL wasn't repaired then scar tissue forms naturally at the tear. This obviously didn't work either, and the same thing happens. The body absorbing things isn't unusual. Hundreds of thousands of cells die every day and get eaten by macro es. Stomach lining, intestinal lining, damaged tissue, blood cells, muscle, everything.

Atrophy of organs and such is an advanced topic, but there's plenty of reading on google if you wanna know the pathways to why it occurs and how. For whatever reason, cells receive signals to kill themselves. Large white blood cells eat up the waste, and it goes until nothing is left.

[barbacoataco]

It just so happens that my dog tore her ACL last year, and had the surgery to repair it using tissue from a different ligament. During the process I researched this quite a bit. What is being said and written about Blair does not jive with what I know about this injury, so I'm reserving judgement until someone with real knowledge describes the situation with Blair.

[superbigtime]

Let's speculate further. It's so constructive.

[Extra Stout]

This shouldn't be a surprise -- players survive without important body parts all the time.

Amare Stoudemire has lasted seven years in the NBA with no brain.

[jack0fspeed]

I have no ACLs and it doesn't bother me too much. All the ACLs do is provide stabilization for the knee joint. A good pair of knee braces and he'll probably be fine.

The risk is that if you are missing one of the three stabilizing ligaments, that you might tear your other ligaments up if you land wrong. What I worry about when I play is that I land flatfooted while torquing my knee. I've kind of adjusted my game so that I always come down on the balls of my feet. I also have to be careful when I'm on defense that I don't try to shuffle sideways and then elevate all in one motion. I imagine since he's played for awhile with this injury, Blair has made a similar adjustments.

Of course every once in awhile I come down on someone's foot or otherwise land awkwardly and then the knee braces save my bacon.

[lotr1trekkie]

I think a lot of team skipped because they didn't think he could be a starter/30 minute a nite guy in the NBA. They could be right. The Spurs will monitor his minutes especially in back to backs. Also he is apparently only 6'6" + a little. Hindsight is always 20/20. I'm elated we got him. I think he will be an impact player at 20-25 minutes a game and I want to see him set picks for Tony and Manu.

[Mr. Body]

Current contenders should have grabbed him. Him and Sam Young. Blair dropped about 20 spots past where he should have gone, it's amazing. Lakers, Cavs, and a few others will be kicking themselves, the Lakers for selling the pick when their bench is very bad, and the Cavs getting that Congolese player.

[Mr Bones]

Let's speculate further. It's so constructive.

Why have you posted 6 times in a thread that you consider a waste of time? Maybe deep down you are very ACL curious, but afraid to admit it.

[Darkwaters]

This shouldn't be a surprise -- players survive without important body parts all the time.

Amare Stoudemire has lasted seven years in the NBA with no brain.

But damn he can jump!

[raspsa]

This shouldn't be a surprise -- players survive without important body parts all the time.

Amare Stoudemire has lasted seven years in the NBA with no brain.

[m33p0]

Er . . . I assume those people were familiar with his injury, the reports, the rumors and what his injury might entail prior to drafting him, and if not, then have certainly been reassured by their own medical staff and his agent prior to negotiating a contract.

In other words, not looking for an expert on ST to explain it well after the fact. . . perhaps what you meant is that YOU care.

ST is filled with doctors specializing in sports-related injuries, didn't you know that?

[Obstructed_View]

So lemme get this straight... you clicked on a thread whose le was No ACLs and now you're pissed because people are talking about ACLs? Do I have that right?

Maybe he took the thread le literally.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Maybe he took the thread le literally.