An anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is an operation to replace a damaged anterior cruciate ligament with a ligament graft or a synthetic ligament.
Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using the 'all-inside' method
Guide for Drilling the femoral tunnel for an all-inside ACL reconstruction.
Graft options for ACL reconstruction
There are two common options for the graft material:
- Autograft - using the patient's own tissues for the reconstruction
- Allograft - using donor tissues rather than the patient's own tissue
Artificial ligaments and xenograft (animal material) remain options but are seldom considered.
Technical considerations
There are different technical procedures available to the surgeon, but the tendency is towards all-inside single-bundle reconstruction.
Pages
CLINICAL PUBLICATIONS
Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: principles of treatment. Paschos NK and Howell SM. EFORT Open Rev. 2016 Nov; 1(11): 398–408.
Management of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: What's In and What's Out? Raines BT, Naclerio E and Sherman SL. Indian J Orthop. 2017 Sep-Oct; 51(5): 563–575.
A Review on Biomechanics of Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Materials for Reconstruction. Marieswaran M, Jain I, Garg B, Sharma V and Kalyanasundaram D. Appl Bionics Biomech. 2018; 2018: 4657824.
Should return to sport be delayed until two years after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction? Biological and functional considerations Nagelli CV and Hewett TE. Sports Med. 2017 Feb; 47(2): 221–232.