ACL Reconstruction Surgery

What is ACL Reconstruction Surgery?

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a three to four-centimeter long band of fibrous tissue that connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone). It helps stabilize the knee joint when performing twisting actions. The cruciate ligament is essential in controlling the rotation of the knee during side stepping, pivoting and landing from a jump. An ACL injury often occurs in sports, but it can also occur if you twist your knee suddenly or receive a direct hit to the knee. Injury to your ACL is often accompanied by a "popping" noise and the feeling that your knee could give out from under you.

Other signs and symptoms of an ACL injury include:

There are many different types of fractures. Your provider will diagnose a specific fracture type depending on a few criteria, including its:

Discomfort while walking
Knee swelling within the first few hours of the injury
Limited knee movement because of swelling and/or pain
Loss of full range of motion
Pain on the outside and back of the knee

Steps of ACL Reconstruction Surgery

ACL reconstruction surgery has some common steps and phases. The sequence may vary based on how your surgeon prefers to do the procedure. But, for the most part, the process follows these defined steps:

Arthroscopy
Graft harvesting
ACL surgery

Types of ACL Reconstruction & Repair

There are a few ways to treat ACL tears through reconstruction or repair:

Autograft – This reconstruction surgery involves replacing the torn ligament with a piece of tendon (the tissue that connects muscles with bones) from the patient's kneecap (patellar tendon), hamstring, or thigh (quadriceps tendon)
Allograft – The graft used is a piece of tendon from a tissue bank (from a person who died and donated their body to science). This is most often used in older individuals but less so in younger adults, due to a higher risk of having a repeated tear.
Bridge-Enhanced ACL Restoration – A recently developed technique that uses a collagen implant to repair the native ACL. This is an option for patients age 14 and over who have finished growing and have a portion of the ACL still attached to the tibia to complete the reconstruction.