Get Back on the Move

Learn about a minimally invasive procedure that could help save your torn ACL and get you back to doing what you love.

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What is an ACL Injury?

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) provides stability to the knee and supports you while you play sports, grocery shop, or take a walk. Injuries to this ligament are common and can be the result of pivoting quickly, landing awkwardly, or stopping suddenly.1

If you have injured your ACL, you will most likely need surgery. A procedure that preserves and reattaches the torn ligament may be the right option for you. If the ligament cannot be repaired, minimally invasive ACL reconstruction would likely be necessary.

Treatment Options

What Treatment Options Are Available?

A new innovative procedure is available to repair the torn ACL by reattaching it back to the bone. For tears that can be repaired, this minimally invasive option can get you back faster to activities and sports2 with a more normal-feeling knee.3,4

Historically, ACL tears have primarily been treated with a reconstruction procedure. During this surgery, the damaged ligament is removed and tissue from another part of the knee or donor tissue is used to recreate the ligament.

ACL Repair
Comparison of an ACL reconstruction and an ACL repair
ACL Reconstruction
Comparison of an ACL reconstruction and an ACL repair

Tear Location Matters

Not all ACL tears can be repaired. Tear location plays a big role in determining whether an ACL should be repaired or reconstructed.

Other factors that determine if an ACL can be repaired include the quality of the remaining tissue, when the injury occurred, patient age, and activity level.

ACL tear
Repairable vs nonrepairable tears
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When tears occur close to the femur (thigh bone), it's been shown that patients have positive results with ACL repair.5 A recent study found that these tears, which make up 16% of all tears, are likely repairable.6

About 27% of tears occur a little farther from the bone and may be repairable.6

A little over half of all tears occur in the middle of the ligament and are likely not repairable.6

Treatment Options

ACL Repair

During ACL repair, no tissue is taken from your knee and no large sockets are drilled into your bones—your own tissue is reattached to the bone. If your ACL can’t be repaired, your surgeon will likely perform a reconstruction.

Benefits of ACL Repair

  • Preserves your own anatomy, resulting in less injury to your body

  • Smaller incisions, no large sockets drilled into the bone, and no tissue removed from another part of your leg

  • Less short-term postoperative pain and fewer prescribed narcotics7

  • Reduced risk of complications (eg, postoperative infections, graft complications, knee stiffness)8

  • Earlier return to sport and activity2

  • Average recovery time for ACL repair is less than the average recovery time for ACL reconstruction2,9

Considerations of ACL Repair

  • Not all patients will be a candidate for the procedure due to tissue quality and where the tear is located, along with other factors, and only your surgeon can determine the most appropriate treatment

  • As with other sports medicine procedures, patient age, activity level, and everyday demand on the knee are taken into consideration prior to surgery; speak to your surgeon to see if ACL repair might be right for you

  • ACL repair is an innovative procedure that not all sports medicine surgeons perform

Connect with a surgeon who understands the range of treatments for ACL injuries.

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Treatment Options

All-Inside ACL Reconstruction

During ACL reconstruction, all of your damaged ligament is removed from your knee and replaced with a graft. Usually, a graft is harvested from a tendon in your leg, which is called an autograft, or donor tissue, which is called an allograft. The most common grafts for ACL reconstruction are from the quadriceps, patellar, or hamstring tendon.

After the graft is harvested, it is placed into tunnels that are drilled into your bone and secured with screws, buttons, or suture.

Quadriceps Tendon
Patellar Tendon
Hamstring
Allograft

Benefits of All-Inside ACL Reconstruction

  • Traditionally accepted treatment for ACL injuries10

  • Reliable procedure with consistent outcomes 11,12

  • Long-term clinical data shows successful patient results 12-14

  • Bone-preserving technique that is less invasive than alternative reconstruction techniques, reducing the number of tunnels needed and resulting in less pain and morbidity11,15-17

Considerations of All-Inside ACL Reconstruction

  • Sockets must be created in your bone to insert the graft

  • Your existing ACL is removed and reconstructed with a graft

  • If using an autograft, your body must also heal the graft-harvest site

  • Longer return to sport, activity, and school compared to ACL repair2

Connect with a surgeon who understands the range of treatments for ACL injuries.

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Why ACL Repair?

Now that you’ve learned the differences between procedures, it may be time to talk to a surgeon about the potential advantages of undergoing ACL repair instead of reconstruction.
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Preservation of Anatomy

More Normal-Feeling Knee

Easier Recovery

Faster Return to Activity

Additional Options to Improve Your Surgical Outcome

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The InternalBrace™ Technique: A Seat Belt for Your ACL

Orthobiologic Augmentation: Using Your Biology to Improve Healing

Meet Ellen

When she tore her ACL, the active runner thought she would be on a long road to recovery. With the help of her surgeon, Gregory S. DiFelice, MD (New York, NY), and an innovative ACL primary repair using the InternalBrace technique, Ellen has returned to her active lifestyle.

“This recovery for my repair on my ACL was completely different—like worlds different—from my ACL reconstruction on my other knee. With every new feat I’ve accomplished I’ve been surprised by the results, surprised by the lack of pain, and surprised by the ability of how quickly I’ve been able to do it.”

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Woman completing a box jump

The Surgeon Perspective

"Repairing the ligament, vs a traditional reconstruction, preserves the original neural fibers and minimizes the amount of time it takes athletes to re-establish the connection between their knee and their brain. It could take them anywhere from 18 to 24 months to recalibrate their map and define a new pattern of movement return to sport. Some people can never do it. Anything we can do to preserve the normal anatomy is potentially beneficial. Results of my ACL repair procedures have shown it to be less painful and allow for earlier functional recovery than conventional ACL reconstruction."

Wiemi A. Douoguih, MD, a surgeon who performs ACL repairs
Wiemi A. Douoguih, MD
Washington, DC
*Physician is a paid researcher of Arthrex, Inc.
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“The goal of modern ACL reconstruction is to basically replace the ligament. We place a graft where the ligament used to sit and place it into little holes in the bone (tunnels). In ACL repair, there are no grafts, there are no tunnels; we’re using your native tissue and simply reattaching it to the bone. We have quite a number of publications out there showing that patients are doing well, the complication rates are lower, and the recoveries are faster. Everybody’s game is important to them and that’s why we do what we do. We help people get back in the game and enjoy their lives.”

Gregory S. DiFelice, MD, a surgeon who performs ACL repairs
Gregory S. DiFelice, MD
New York, NY
*Physician is a paid researcher of Arthrex, Inc.
See Other Affiliations

Research and Media Articles

Article

ACL TightRope® Implant Scientific Update

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Article

InternalBrace™ Technique: Knee Applications

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Article

First FDA Clearance of Pediatric ACL Reconstruction Device

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Article

TightRope® Implant FDA Clearance for Pediatric ACL Surgery

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Article

ACL Primary Repair Scientific Update

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