1. Anatomy and Function:
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament
(A.C.L.) is the most important ligament in the knee. It joins
the femur to the tibia at the center of the joint and prevents
movements during activity.
The A.C.L. is injured when the knee is twisted under
angled to the side or hyper extended. This can occur
a fall, rapid deceleration, pivot or collision. The
usually ruptures or tears at it's mid portion which
it non-functional and creates an unstable knee.
3. Treatment: The torn A.C.L.
has very poor healing potential
cannot be repaired. The choices are: a) replace
or b) live without an A.C.L. The following
are used to arrive at a decision:
a) Patient age
b) Activity goals
c) Associated injuries
d) Degree of instability
treatment begins with rehabilitative
to strengthen the leg followed by the use of a custom
for all strenuous activities.
treatment consists of an arthroscopic procedure
the torn A.C.L. First, the entire knee is examined to
torn cartilage or other problems that need to be
Then the torn A.C.L. is removed and the area is
to accept a tendon graft replacement. The choice of
is performed as an outpatient procedure and lasts
||a) Patellar tendon
b) Hamstring tendons
c) Cadaver tendons
hours. The patient begins rehabilitation almost
and gradually increases their activities until full
is achieved at 6 months post-op.
although extensive, will restore the knee to
of its pre injury function.
has performed over 3000 of these A.C.L.
and uses state of the art techniques and
He has extensive training in this area and is
involved in clinical research related to this procedure.
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