ACL Tears - Preferred and New Surgical Technique

Dr. Sabrina Strickland of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City discusses her preferred technique for an ACL reconstruction and highlights one of the new FDA-approved innovative procedures for repairing an ACL.
sabrinastrickland.com
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL)
Athletes who participate in high demand sports such as skiing, soccer, football, and basketball are more likely to injure their anterior cruciate ligaments.
How does it feel?
When the ACL tears it is typically quite traumatic, necessitating a stop to the game or a ski patrol ride to the base of the mountain. You may feel a pop with acute pain and then a feeling of instability such that you cannot bear weight, followed by swelling.
How does it happen?
An ACL is injured during a twisting non-contact event or secondary to a contact injury where the knee is hit on the lateral or posterior side. Most ACL injuries occur in cutting sports such as basketball, soccer, lacrosse as well as skiing.
How can it be fixed?
When you twist or pop your knee and it swells immediately, it is often due to a tear of the ACL. This injury is initially treated with physical therapy, rest and ice. Those who want to return to sports such as skiing and soccer usually require surgery. Occasionally, I have a patient whose goal is to run and cycle; these patients may only require non-operative treatment. However, the vast majority people with ACL tears opt for surgical intervention. This arthroscopic procedure drills tunnels through both the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone) in order to pass a tendon through the center of the knee. Patients can choose the type of graft used to reconstruct the ACL. For young, high demand athletes, I recommend using their own hamstring or patellar tendon. For less active or slightly older patients, I prefer the relatively less invasive allograft or cadaver tissue option. After surgery, patients need physical therapy for 4 to 6 months and return to cutting sports within 6 to 8 months.

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