Torn ACL- Not Sure If Im In the Right Place...

AZOmer

Member
Registered Member
My fiancé is currently serving overseas. About two months ago he fell down a flight of stairs and seriously injured his knee. The orthopedic surgeon on base thought that he had just pulled a tendon and sent my fiancé to physical therapy for a month. The physical therapist did not agree with the Ortho's diagnosis. My fiancé complied with the physical therapy, but after a month his knee was getting worse. He ended up going to see the ortho again and he said "oh, maybe it is a torn ACL." So they sent him town the nearby town for an MRI. The results came back that he has a total rupture of acl, perferal tear of MM and a contusion to his femoral bone. (Sorry about the bad medical spelling). So, his doc has been talking about a medical discharge. This seems odd to me because it seems like he is more than willing to get him out and not willing to work with him, my fiancé, to get the surgeries done while staying in. So, my question is...what are the ramifications of a medical discharge? Will he be able to keep his benefits? If not, which benefits would he lose?

Also, side question, are military doctors always this much of an idiot? My fiancée does not like his doctor and does not trust him. It took him over a month to realize that something was really wrong, even after my Fiancé told him that he was in pain and that his knee cap kept popping out.

If they decide not to medically discharge him and they want to do the surgery while he is overseas, what are his options? He really would prefer not to have surgery while over there.

I have looked into the Reg's but since I am not in the military, the military jargon is hard to understand.

Thanks so much for any help that you can give me!!
 
You're in the right place

AZOmer,

Welcome to PEB Forum!

A medical discharge is characterized as honorable and generally speaking your fiancé will have all veteran's benefits as if he was discharged for ETS. Be aware that there are some programs out there that have time in service or other qualifications, but your fiancé will qualify for the vast majority of programs if discharged.

As to the military doctors, it is like anything else in the military. There are some great ones, some good ones, and ones who are plain bad. Most are very competent and professional individuals. But not all are. Seems like your fiancé got one of the bad ones. He could try to change his doctor if he is unhappy.

As to refusing surgery, if they think it is neccesary to his continued service, he should understand that refusal could trigger an MEB. If his condition does not warrant surgery and he is qualified for retention, he should have no problem in not having the surgery. However, given the seriousness of the condition you described, it seems likely to me that he would need surgery. So, the likely answer is that refusal could trigger the MEB. It seems likely that he would have an unfit finding. However, under the provisions of AR 635-40, B-3 (c), if his refusal of treatment is "unreasonable" he may end up with a decreased or no rating.

Hope he recovers well and do not hesitate to post any other questions.
 
AZOmer,

Welcome to the forum. The military has an obligation to attempt to return a service member to the same condition they were in when they came in if they are injured on active duty.

If I were in his shoes, I'd push hard to have the surgery. But and this is the key. I would insist that it be done by someone other than the quack that misdiagnosed him. He is even allowed to state his exact reasons for not wanting that particular Dr to be involved. This is one area where rank means nothing.

Good luck.
 
Ok, I haven't been around in awhile. Thank for both of your very helpful advice. He finally got in to see is ortho. doc. today. He said that his only option was surgery. He then said that he had already scheduled it for a week from today, and handed him a bus pass to go into the largest city, for the surgery. He has to do this completly alone. The surgery also has a 6-9 recoperation period. He only hsa 8 months left where he is. Is it common for the AF not to send people back to the states for surgery. It seems rediculous to make him go through this surgery without any form of a support system.

Thanks! Any info would be much appreciated!
 
Hope the surgery goes well

AZOmer,

It sounds like he is at least getting treatment he needs. It is not uncommon for them to perform the surgery overseas. They would not send him back CONUS unless he was not going to be able to perform any duty or if they did not have the expertise to perform it there. I had a friend who had heart valve replacement in Germany, for example. So, it is not unusual.

As far as his getting boarded or not, that will only happen if his prognosis is that he won't recover sufficiently to return to duty. If he is boarded, they will extend his orders to complete processing.

Hope all goes well and let us know any questions.
 
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