Medical Review: ACL Reconstruction = ? PES? Service Injury?

silvermail SG

Hello,

Recently I've injured myself during Reservist and got my knee dislocated. I'm currently waiting for ACL reconstruction and menisci repair. I have large joint effusions at the posterior intercondylar and lateral joint line. Tears at the posterior horn on both medial and lateral menisci and anterior tibial shift due to a complete ACL tear among others.

Currently I am claiming all medical expenses from my company. But I am wondering if I should claim from MINDEF first since I sustained the injury during Reservist? Anybody familiar with this type of claim procedures?

Anybody here went thru ACL surgery before? How's the road to recovery like?

Thanks.

cagelee131 SG

previously during NSF days i remember 1 or 2 frens got this same issue

basically, you need to prove that this injury is sustained during the course of your reservist training .. ie this is a service injury.

very important .... what exactly were you doing when you sustained the injury? is it during training ? is it during your own recreation sports during reservist time?

did you report sick to the medical centre immediately?
did you inform your officers that you sustained the injury?

did you see the MO for him to examine you and for him to document the injury into your medical records.... this is actually proof that you sustained the injury during training.....

if you did all the above... then you should have no problems claiming from SAF for your injuries. Go through your unit S1 who will then give you the relevant instructions...

if you did not do the above, then there is no evidence to to show that your injury is sustained during training, therefore it will be unlikely for you to claim for your injury.................

hope this helps

silvermail SG

Yup, I was injured during training. Was sent to the medical centre and the MO referred me to Tan Tock Seng. However, right now I am a private patient. I guess I will just give my unit a call to find out more... Rolling Eyes

Thanks.

nismoS132 SG

get it from mindef, but prepared for alot of paperwork. and you’re going to need to remember alot of dates, start jotting them down now.

sunniban SG

Well im an inj clerk in an NS dept + ive got the same inj so can ans both parts of your question.......

Mm, by right SAF will only pay for your op once it has been approved as a service inj. This will take some time though...... so in the mean time, you've gotta settle the bills and once its been approved as a svc inj, you'll be paid back + u should be getting free med coverage for this inj. Also, if you were injured during training or some other official activity in the trg prog, u will be further compensated.

As for the surgery itself..... i went via the hamstring tendon route.... do discuss with your spec the other options, e.g. (Patella, allograft)
im slightly under 6 mths now. I can tell ya theres gonna be a lot of physio involved. Also the fear of reinjuring is pretty high. Every time i fall or hear a pop in my knee i fear the worst....kinda paranoid.....

Here's a rough time line of my recovery so far.......
0wk ==> Very pain, on crutches, braced
3wk ==> Pain almost gone, off crutches, braced, very bad limp
6wk ==> No longer braced, still walking with a limp. started using legpress
and hamstring curl machines
12wk ==> After test, allowed to start slow jogging on treadmill only
14wk ==> Progress to advanced physio

The next milestone is probably the 6 mth one.... waiting for that..... but in the meantime im afraid i re-tore the graft recently...... must check wif the spec next time i see him....... Hope all this helps.....

silvermail SG

Hello sunniban,

Thanks for your detailed description. Smile

MINDEF is making it difficult (?) to claim from them. I can claim quite easily from my company or insurance which is hassle-free and simple. I am not sure if I want to go that route to claim from MINDEF.

Will MINDEF only reimburse you if you are a paying patient in a public hospital?

Wow, the road to recovery seems like it's too long for me. I'm working right and I think my company won't like it. Sad I was given 6 weeks MC since the incident and an operation will mean further 'downtime' to my boss. Sigh...

I understand that 'fear' of injuring yourself again - I have the same feeling now. Got a few occasions when I nearly re-injured the knee again. Please take care and don't fall. Everytime you fall, you are re-tearing all the ligaments again.

sunniban SG

hehe, np..... yeah, claiming money from MINDEF is always hard..... no matter what...... it'll probably take a few months(at least 10) if your NS Unit is efficient..... and might even take years if it isn't Sad

First step is to get it recognized as a service injury by filling up the injury report and getting your NS Unit to submit it over to NSAD/NSPC (Cant remember which). At least after this, you'll be compensated for your costs. Next step is to claim Permanent Disability compensation. And trust me, you are definitely entitled to it for this injury.

As for the hassle, you'll probably need to make bout 2 trips back to camp, and once to MMI. Not that bad la.....

Claiming money for private doctor eh? Personally never seen such a case lol. Ill try to read the directive when i get back to camp and get back to ya on that one......

wow..... u got 6 wks MC when u first got injured? My MO only gave me 2 wks MC. When my spec gave me another 2 wks, he cut it...... forced to go to camp even though i couldnt bend my leg Sad

Mm, actually there's an allograft option that's quite common in other countries. Do discuss with your spec...... i heard the recovery time is much faster.... although im not sure if its available in Singapore..... my doc only offered me hamstring or patella.