ACL Post Surgery Wound Care
Post-ACL Surgery Wound Care: What You Need to Know
Proper wound care following ACL surgery is a vital part of recovery and plays a key role in preventing complications such as infection, delayed healing, or skin irritation. While everyone’s surgical experience can vary slightly, particularly depending on the type of graft used, understanding general wound care principles can help ensure a smoother recovery.
Managing Wound Sites
ACL reconstruction typically involves several incisions around the knee area, and additional sites may be present if your graft came from your own tissue (autograft), such as the hamstring or patellar tendon, or from a donor (allograft).
Each of these wounds will likely be dressed and bandaged immediately after surgery:
- Dressing refers to the sterile material applied directly to the wound to protect it and promote healing.
- Bandage refers to the outer layer that secures the dressing in place and helps control swelling.
It’s common for patients to confuse these terms or think only of branded adhesive strips like Band-Aids, but understanding this difference can help when changing or checking your wound coverings. In some cases, surgeons may also use Steri-Strip™ closures or medical glue to help keep incisions closed. There’s actually a lot of dressing options these days, that aren’t typically things you see on the shelf at the drugstore. There are dressings called Hydrofiber and Hydrocolloid for absorption and maintaining moistness, Foam dressings, and more.
Always follow your surgeon’s specific wound care instructions. Some protocols may include not removing or disturbing the dressing for several days, while others may allow for gentle cleaning or re-wrapping.
If you do need to re-dress your wound(s), (especially if you are experiencing a lot of bleeding), you should consult with your doctor’s office as to what to use you if you have a choice. It’s likely that using “non-adherent gauze” would be better. Non-adherent gauze is a type of wound dressing designed specifically not to stick to the wound bed. “Regular” gauze is still widely used because it’s versatile, absorbent and cost-effective, and maybe is what was initially used, but probably not the best to re-do for wounds that could be sensitive.
Note that if you do feel compelled to re-dress a wound, (perhaps original dressings were pulled off or whatever reasons), if you can you should consider taking a picture of the wound sites. This way, you can share with doctor’s office without having to remove dressings again. This may allow them to see if there were any new issues such as torn stitches, infection and so on.
What to Watch For
Staying alert for any unusual signs can help catch potential problems early.
Signs of Infection
Infection is rare but serious and must be treated immediately. This is an area where waiting can have significant consequences for severity. Monitor wounds and your condition for:
- Redness or spreading discoloration not related to typical bruising
- Excessive swelling or fluid leakage (especially yellow, green, or foul-smelling discharge)
- Pain that worsens rather than improves
- Heat coming from the wound area
- Fever
If any of these symptoms appear, call your healthcare provider, especially warmth and abnormal discoloration. If it’s not during office hours, don’t wait until morning. Get on telehealth, go to a clinic, go to the emergency room. Something. Be sure to ask your doctor in advance what warning signs require urgent action.
Allergic Reaction
A serious allergic reaction, (medically called anaphylaxis), may be rare, but would be a true emergency. If you have any trouble breathing, or feel things like hives developing in critical areas, (such as your throat), that’s reason to seek immediate emergency care.
Less seriously, but still uncomfortable, some patients may experience irritation around the surgical sites. If so, you should contact your caregiver as soon as you can to make sure it’s nothing serious. Usually it won’t be. Some issues may include:
- Hives or itchy rashes near the bandages
- Red, blotchy skin unrelated to the surgical incisions
- Discomfort that spreads beyond the incision area
Such reactions may be caused by surgical preparation solutions, adhesives, or latex in the dressings. They are usually minor but should still be reported to your doctor. It’s often easy to switch materials or apply topical treatments to relieve symptoms, but get medical guidance if you have issues. Also, consider if you’re using anything new that may be a problem. If you just bought some kind of new clothing to use post-surgery, there could be an issue with that material.
If you do develop something significant, like widespread contact dermatitis, you’ll likely want to get some kind of medicine or over-the-counter anti-itch solution to relieve the discomfort and possibly pain. It’s also possible a fuller length leg cold sleeve could help. Though ideally, this type of problem won’t last too long, various types of skin irritation may take days or even weeks to clear up.
Final Reminders
- Keep your wound sites dry (unless told otherwise): Moisture can increase infection risk. Some doctors say keep it dry, and patients will use coverings for showers, other doctors say bathe at will. And some doctors recommend moist wound care of some sort. The protocol will depend on patient risk factors, wound types, would closure types, dressing types, and surgeon preference. Follow your doctor’s office instructions. Others may have different suggestions, which may seem inconsistent. But there are multiple ways to care for wounds. Just remember, you have been given a personalized program thought to be best for you.
- Don’t pick or peel: Let steri-strips or glue come off naturally unless your doctor says otherwise.
- Follow-up appointments matter: Your care team will check your healing progress and spot issues early.
- Don’t hesitate to ask: If something looks or feels off, reach out. Peace of mind is part of recovery too.
With the right attention and care, most wounds from ACL surgery heal well and without complications. Take care of your body, follow instructions closely, and you’ll set yourself up for a strong recovery. As always, contact your care professionals if something seems wrong and you can’t clearly identify and deal with the issue.