Dr. Jeff Abrams
Princeton, New Jersey

The time spent out of work or school can vary from a week to two depending on graft choice, transportation, and to type of occupation.

F. Alan Barber MD, FACS
Plano, Texas

Most of my patients are on crutches for from one to two weeks. Some are able to stop using the crutches at one week and the rest are off their crutches by two weeks. Depending upon where your class or work is located and if you need to climb stairs, you should be able to return to some classes or work starting about one week after surgery. Do not expect to return to your full schedule until after two weeks.

Dr. Don Johnson
Ottawa, Canada

The time off school is about 2-3 weeks. If your job is sedentary, the time off is about the same, 2-3 weeks. If you are involved in heavy manual labour, then the return to work is about the same as return to sports, 4-6 months.

Dr. Hugh West
Salt Lake City, Utah

Most of my patients are off work for at least six days. This is because I use a rehabilitation program that keeps them off their feet for the first week as much as possible in order to minimize the amount of swelling and pain in their knee. By really concentrating on reducing the swelling and pain during the first week after surgery, physical therapy and rehabilitation are made much easier and go more quickly. By the end of the first week, most of my patients are able to get around reasonably well and start to go back to work and school. It takes people about eight weeks to return to heavy physical labor, and most people are out from sports for at least four months.