Shyan Khaleeli

I completely tore the ACL in my right knee and partially tore the LCL while skiing in Pennsylvania in February 2015. Although, everything happened very quickly and I didn't hear a pop the knee almost doubled in size within an hour. Although I experienced discomfort I did not realize the extent of my injury and waited a day or so to see a doctor hoping that icing and keeping the knee raised would be enough to heal the knee. I soon realized this was not the case. I went to a specialist, recommended by a friend, at an NYC hospital near my home and within 5 minutes he categorically said that my ACL was torn and I would need surgery. I was stunned. I decided to get a second opinion at HSS, which I had been told by numerous people was THE place to go for an injury such as mine. Having spoken to a few people I decided to try to set up an appointment with Dr. Nawabi. The doctor and his staff were extremely helpful and slotted me in for the next day and even scheduled an MRI and X-ray for me pre-appointment.

As you can imagine I was a little apprehensive but Dr. Nawabi and his staff immediately put me at ease with both their efficiency and excellent bedside manner. Dr. Nawabi walked me through the x-ray and MRI results as well as the physical examination of my knee - giving me a much clearer picture of what was going on inside my knee and what a torn ACL meant for me on a day to day basis. He then very clearly explained my options and answered all my questions regarding these options. Further to this, he very kindly allowed my friends, who had accompanied me to the hospital, to sit in the examination room with me and take part in the discussion.

Dr Nawabi and his staff staff immediately found me a physiotherapist to strengthen my legs pre-op and were extremely helpful when I called with any questions. After approximately 6 weeks in a sports brace Dr. Nawabi and I decided my knee had stabilized, my LCL had healed and I was ready for surgery and penciled in a date.

The surgery took just over an hour and was a seamless and pleasant experience (as far as surgeries go). Everyone at HSS was extremely friendly and helpful, providing clear instructions and reassurance at every turn. More importantly, I had complete confidence in Dr. Nawabi who once again talked me through the arthroscopic ACL reconstruction and gave me instructions for post-op care. I woke up after surgery slightly groggy but with a reconstructed ACL and after speaking with Dr Nawabi about the surgery I was able to leave the hospital on my own two feet.

I has been approximately 1 week since my surgery and although I am still house bound and icing my knee throughout the day. I now only require Tylenol to manage any pain my knee. At my first physio session post surgery my knee was only swollen by 2cm, my right quad was only 1cm smaller than my left and I was able to extend my right leg only 2 degrees less than my left. Additionally, I was able to bend my right knee to 60 degrees. Although, I still a great deal of work to do to fully recover so far this has been a relatively smooth process due to the excellent work done by Dr. Nawabi and his staff.