The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the major stabilizing ligaments in the knee. It is a strong rope like structure located in the center of the knee running from the femur to the tibia. When this ligament tears, unfortunately, it does not heal and often leads to the feeling of instability in the knee.

ACL Reconstruction with Tendon Graft

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is a surgical procedure that replaces the injured ACL with a tendon graft. Anterior cruciate ligament is one of the four major ligaments of the knee that connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone) and helps stabilize your knee joint. The anterior cruciate ligament prevents excessive forward movement of the lower leg bone (the tibia) in relation to the thigh bone (the femur) and limits rotational movements of the knee.

A tear of this ligament can make you feel as though your knees will not allow you to move or even hold you up. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is surgery to reconstruct the torn ligament of your knee with a tissue graft.

Causes

An ACL injury most commonly occurs during sports that involve twisting or overextending your knee. An ACL can be injured in several ways:

  • Sudden directional change
  • Slowing down while running
  • Landing from a jump incorrectly
  • Direct blow to the side of your knee, such as during a football tackle

Symptoms

When you injure your ACL, you might hear or feel a loud “pop” sound and you may feel the knee buckle. Within a few hours after an ACL injury, your knee may swell due to bleeding from vessels within the torn ligament. You may notice that the knee feels unstable or seems to give way, especially when trying to change direction on the knee.

Diagnosis

An ACL injury can be diagnosed with a thorough physical examination of the knee and diagnostic tests such as X-rays, MRI scans and arthroscopy. X-rays may be needed to rule out any fractures. In addition, Dr. Grimes will often perform the Lachman’s test to see if the ACL is intact. During a Lachman test, knees with a torn ACL may show increased forward movement of the tibia and a soft or mushy endpoint compared to a healthy knee.

The pivot shift test is another test to assess ACL tear. During this test, if the ACL is torn, the tibia will move forward when the knee is completely straight and as the knee bends past 30° the tibia shifts back into correct place in relation to the femur.

Procedure

The goals of ACL reconstruction surgery are to tighten your knee and to restore its stability and preserve motion. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is a surgical procedure to replace the torn ACL with a tendon graft.

ACL reconstruction is a commonly performed surgical procedure and with recent advances in arthroscopic surgery can now be performed with minimal incisions and low complication rates.