Isabelle Magliocca Sydney Magliocca interview on knee surgery

In the Isabelle Magliocca Sydney Magliocca interview, Isabelle told her sister that two knee surgeries and the onset of arthritis ended her plans to play soccer at Dawson. She traced the injury to a high school futsal game played against her ASL Val coach’s instructions, described practicing with a torn ACL before surgery at Shriners Hospital in Montreal, and said she will not have a third operation for a meniscus transplant.

How did Isabelle Magliocca start playing soccer and reach Dawson?

Isabelle Magliocca started futsal at seven in Mascouche, Quebec, before a coach encouraged her to try soccer on a field. By Grade 9, she was playing competitive club soccer with ASL Val; in Grade 11, she had committed to play at Dawson, a pre-university college in Quebec.

From Mascouche futsal to ASL Val

Magliocca grew up in a sports-oriented family that tried several sports. She chose futsal first, describing it as a gym-based version of soccer with a heavier ball and different rules. Her coaches moved her up to play with children a year older, and another coach suggested she take her game onto a soccer field.

At ASL Val, soccer became more competitive. The team played tournaments in Sweden and Las Vegas, among other trips. Magliocca recalled having cups to pursue and a club season that mattered increasingly to her.

A commitment to Dawson

In Grade 11, Magliocca committed to Dawson’s women’s soccer team. She said the team was moving into Division 1 for the first time, and she was excited about playing there after high school. At the same time, her ASL Val coach told players not to play soccer elsewhere during their under-17 season. Magliocca said the coach was concerned about injuries and believed the team could reach Nationals.

How did Isabelle Magliocca suffer her ACL and meniscus injury?

Isabelle Magliocca tore her ACL and meniscus during her third high school futsal game. She had joined the school team despite her ASL Val coach’s rule against playing elsewhere; while she was trying to send the ball toward a teammate, an opponent pushed her and her planted foot stayed fixed on the gym floor.

Joining the high school futsal team

Her English teacher, who coached the school futsal team, had asked her to join. Magliocca initially raised her club coach’s restriction and the risk of injury, but decided to play after the teacher told her he did not expect the games to be competitive enough for that to happen. She said other girls from her club also played for their high schools, sometimes against hers.

The injury in the third game

During the play, Magliocca ran down the side and kicked the ball toward the center. She said an opponent then pushed her with both hands. Her foot did not move on the sticky gym surface, while the rest of her leg shifted. An ambulance took her to the hospital, where X-rays showed no broken bone.

A sports orthopedist ordered an MRI after examining her knee. Magliocca said the results showed a torn ACL and a bucket-handle meniscus tear. Looking back, she said she understood why her club coach had imposed the rule she broke.

Did Isabelle Magliocca play soccer with a torn ACL before surgery?

Isabelle Magliocca practiced with her teammates while waiting for knee surgery, wearing a custom brace after discussing permitted activity with her surgeon. She said she heard another pop during practice, felt immediate pain and saw her knee swell, but did not tell the surgeon because she feared she had done more than she was allowed to do.

Waiting for an operation

The injury happened in March while Magliocca was still in high school. She consulted two surgeons and chose the second, at Shriners Hospital in Montreal, because he spent more than an hour discussing risks and possible outcomes with her. She said she received a call about surgery in August.

During the wait, she asked whether she could still practice. Her surgeon described activities she could do, and she received a custom knee brace from J.E. Hanger, measured to fit her knee. Magliocca chose black because she did not want the brace to stand out more than it already did.

The pop she kept to herself

After hearing the pop at practice, Magliocca iced her knee. She said the swelling eventually subsided and the pain returned to what had become normal for her. She believed at the time that she could not tear an ACL that was already torn. According to Magliocca, her surgeon later learned she had practiced and that the second pop was further damage to her meniscus.

What did Isabelle Magliocca say about ACL surgery and recovery?

Isabelle Magliocca underwent ACL reconstruction using a quadriceps graft, along with additional reinforcement recommended by her surgeon because of her joint flexibility. The operation lasted about four and a half hours—longer than she had expected—because the surgeon chose to repair her badly torn meniscus rather than remove it.

The longer operation at Shriners Hospital

Before surgery, Magliocca had met with medical staff and learned how to use crutches. She said her surgeon had told her to expect an operation of no more than about three hours. Once inside her knee, he found that the meniscus tear required a decision between removal and stitching it back together. She said he chose the repair with her return to soccer in mind, though it meant a longer, more painful recovery.

Her parents were worried when the operation ran roughly an hour and a half longer than expected. Magliocca said she woke up on morphine and initially did not know why it had taken so long. She later described the meniscus repair as requiring approximately 13 to 15 sutures.

Pain and physiotherapy after surgery

Recovery brought another problem. Magliocca said a postoperative pain-treatment device she called a “baby bottle” was not attached tightly enough, and medication leaked instead of reaching her leg during the three days she wore it. She said she felt the surgical pain while taking only half the medication she otherwise would have taken.

She began physiotherapy about a week after the operation and recalled going roughly twice a week. Later, persistent pain and difficulty fully straightening her leg prompted another MRI. Magliocca said it showed a roughly golf-ball-sized mass of scar tissue in the middle of her knee.

Why did Isabelle Magliocca stop playing soccer?

Isabelle Magliocca stopped playing soccer after a second knee operation removed about 60% of her meniscus and she began experiencing arthritis. She said she no longer plays for Dawson and has decided against the additional surgery that doctors presented as a possible route back to soccer: a meniscus transplant.

The second operation and its consequences

Surgeons operated again to remove the scar tissue. Magliocca said they also found that part of her meniscus had lifted and removed approximately 60% of it. Afterward, she began experiencing arthritis, which she described as painful. She said she was told soccer was no longer a realistic option without a meniscus transplant using donor tissue.

Deciding against a meniscus transplant

The loss of soccer has been mentally draining, Magliocca said. She sees a social worker and talks about it often. Soccer had been a way to stop thinking about other pressures and simply play, and she said she no longer has that outlet.

Magliocca told Sydney where she stands on the proposed transplant:

“I'm not putting myself through a third surgery”

She is continuing with school rather than pursuing another operation to return to the game. Her decision closes a path she had expected to follow from ASL Val to Dawson, but one she said she is not willing to pursue through a third surgery.