So I ruptured my ACL & tore my MCL too according to my MRI. According to my doctor you can potentially wait for years in the public Medicare system.
Can anyone tell me which private health insurance would be best for this surgery?
Completely Ruptured My ACL & Have No Private Health Insurance. Please Recommend a Provider
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Go to Thailand or Vietnam and get decent medical care for 1/4 price and enjoy your holiday too
Don’t know about Thailand but ACL is not a common procedure in Vietnam so surgeon there might not be good. Heart surgeon or dentist are exceptional.
apparently Ireland has great knee surgeons. The IRA had a great training program in the 70s, 80s and 90s. not sure they are cheap in the same way Vietnam is though.
It is all that river dancing.
If you did it playing basketball and the stadium made a record of the injury when it happened, contact them and see if the Stadium's insurance covers it. When I had microfracture surgery on my knee their insurance covered part of the cost.
OzB way is to just chop the leg off
Got deal on axe or cleaver or chainsaw?
I got mine repaired nearly 3 years ago. Had ruptured ACL repaired with two miniscus tear grafts. I was with Bupa and barely paid anything only had to pay for a MRI scan. If they give you a choice get them to use the hamstring tendon as the graft. I had the patella tendon used and have had trouble with nerve damage from where they took from the patella tendon
Just pay for the operation. You only get one body. Don't sit around with a major injury for a year waiting to get cheaper treatment. The cost of the procedure is negligible in light of what people spend on property and other things nowadays.
Agreed. In my mid 30s and I've had the last 5 odd years doing a few various operations to help improve my health/fix issue's I've been ignoring or injuries I got.
I have read a few articles on this recently….
https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2023/june/new-treat…
I was in the same situation. Waited for 3 months but then decided to go to India for surgery to prevent unforeseen complications at later stage.
Seems like a easy and cheap solution
How old are you OP?
Just turned 39.
Single or in a family? If you earn more than the thresholds detailed on the Medicare levy surcharge income, thresholds and rates page, you are paying the Medicare levy surcharge, which you could have avoided by having health insurance.
So you will have an 18% loading on your private insurance premiums for 10 years.
Happy birthday
From someone who has done ACL on both left and right (left in 20s and right in 30s). I ended up not having surgery and still play tennis on a hard court without issue (41 years old).
I was on waiting list for 12 months, placed on a bed then kicked out because they needed bed for emergency surgery. Never went back and was probably the best thing that could of happened. I'm a big guy and not sure how I would of gone with the reco. Brother had both done and my knees after natural strength training are better.
I'd recommend getting on wait list if you're wanting the surgery. But find a great physio and start building muscle around your leg. Worst case your knee is mobile and recovery will be better after surgery. Best case, you find you don't need the surgery and your knee is stable enough to perform your rec activities.
This entirely depends on where and how bad the tear is - for some surgery is unnecessary, for others it is essential. There's no doubt that some unnecessary surgery is being done, but OP is not in a position to decide whether his particular case is one of those.
I reckon he needs at least a second specialist opinion, but of course either way your advice about starting physio now is sound.
@derrida derider: Don't see any harm getting a second opinion. Would also discuss with specialist on what their view is on the circumstance and outcome of alternatives to surgery. For me, the surgeon even on the day did a stability test and advised there was no certainty the surgery was needed( after my pre rehab).
I just went in thinking ACL= surgery to play sport again. I learned that's not always the case.
Get your self on public system and consider doing it in a south asian country if urgent.
The public wait lists are a mystery, there doesn’t seem to be logic so take what your doctor has said about two years with a grain of salt.
Husband (33) had a knee reco last year. It was an old injury and MRI found basically no ACL and a very torn meniscus.
Quote for private out of pocket was 10k. Went for public wait list because he’d already had the injury 7 years and had lived with it so far.
It took about a year from referral to surgery. We had two last minute offer calls in that time as well, but had to decline the first due to Covid and the second with a baby due two weeks later. Overall, we are thrilled it got done for free. Recovery was harder than expected, especially mentally, and physio continues now.
Have a look at pod brand of braces if you need some extra support to get you through between now and whatever fix you go with.Appreciate your comment. Gives me some hope in the public system considering you weren't waiting too long. What state are you in btw?
We’re in Victoria. Given the backlog of elective surgeries here after Covid, we didn’t have high hopes either.
What I would say is when you do get it done, allow a good six weeks for proper recovery time. We were shocked at how difficult it was, and he became really frustrated when he was still on crutches after a few weeks. All normal and he’s great now, but going in we assumed a week or two and he’d be hobbling along fairly normally. Nope!He really rated the Pod brace after trying a few, might buy you some waiting time.
Move to Canada. They do euthanasia for free to save the state medical costs.
Edgy opinion.
When you're terminal and in unmanageable pain with no quality of life, your opinion on this topic will change.
I dunno what all the hate on the public system is. I've broken a toe and had a complex break of my wrist. Both times I showed up in ED, operated and discharged within 12 hours. No complications, free physio after.
ACL tears are quite different from wrist fractures. Unless someone is an NFL player, conservative management is often initially recommended.
because people turn up with something that isn't life threatening and expect it to be fixed immediately, not realising they aren't as important as someone like you with a literal broken bone.
The number of people that take their kids to emergency because they have had a cough for the last three hours, expecting to see a Dr is hilarious.
Our public health system is world class, and we do world class surgeries and treatments.
Non-operative management is an option. https://www.orthobullets.com/knee-and-sports/3008/acl-tear
But as others have said, if you want a surgical fix, expect to wait unless private.
Should’ve gotten Private Insurance earlier
Completely your fault to wear OP
Get a 1week ticket to thailand for $800 do the surgery in 2 days for $1500 go back home, total cost $2300 but its done in 1 week.
Australia private system will cost you a minimum $7kHave you done this yourself? How would I go about finding out about the surgeons?
I am sorry to learn about your injury. It must be very challenging to cope with the pain and the limited mobility of your leg. I can relate to your situation, as I suffered a severe ACL and MCL tear stage 3 in my left knee in January 2020.
I was fortunate enough to have HCF health cover (12 months wait for pre-existing) and underwent an ACL hamstring graft surgery. The surgeon decided not to operate on my MCL and let it heal naturally. I was referred to a reputable surgeon by some of my medical contacts. If you are considering paying for the surgery yourself, I suggest you do some research and ask for recommendations. It is also important to find a qualified physiotherapist who has experience in specialising in ACL rehabilitation.
I have a friend who had a similar injury to yours in 2023 ACL tear stage 3. She did not have health insurance either. Her doctor advised her to join a study that involved wearing a locked brace at 90 degrees. She managed to avoid surgery and made a full recovery. Her ACL reattached and healed well. I wish I had known about this option before I had my surgery.
I hope this helps you make an informed decision about your treatment. I wish you all the best in your recovery.https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2023/june/new-treat…
Sincerely
Not having a go at anyone but this is the problem with private health insurance…being able to pay 12 months premiums and claim thousands for pre-existing conditions drives the cost up for everyone else…imagine what would happen with premiums if your uninsured house burnt down and you could then take out insurance for 12 months and claim for pre-exisiting damage…same-same?
Lots of comments here but here’s another :-)
I tore my ACL in 2005 and didn’t have health insurance at the time. I couldn’t afford to pay for private surgery and instead went on the medicare list. 3 years and many falls, cracks and pops - my knee was finally repaired.
Unfortunately the wait really cost me. Significant atrophy in the affected leg (that’ll never return) and chronic osteo arthritis and meniscus loss. 20 years later I now need a knee replacement.
If you can’t find a provider who will accept and treat your pre-existing consider financing your own surgery. Get it done, don’t take the risk.
Last time my ACL popped I bought a full leg brace. After 1 week with it on there was fusion. Then I found on YouTube exercises to do. Within 3 weeks I was good. It's been around 6 years now and all has been great.
How is the pain?
Ask your GP or another GP about a Orthopaedic surgeon who works in public hospital and also has private rooms. Pay the gap to see them in their private consult rooms and then discuss going onto the public surgical wait list. This will save you a lot of time
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Just crashed my car… can you recommend an insurance company to join so I can get it fixed?
Thats the equivalent of not having private health and wanting an injury fixed quicker than the public system.