The native ACL is made up of two bundles; the anteromedial bundle and the posterolateral bundle. Over the last 20+ years surgeons have been reconstructing only the anteromedial bundle.
Why? Good Question. We did not realize how important the posterolateral bundle is. Over the last 5 years, though, a growing number of surgeons, myself included, have been switching over to a double bundle technique that reproduces the “normal” anatomy of the ACL before it was torn. To my knowledge, I am the only Orthopedist in the Hudson Valley currently performing this technically challenging procedure. This link will take you to the site of Dr. Freddy H. Fu, who has been researching this technique for years.
Ijeoma Tiggs says
Hello Dr. Luks,
I have a question for you regarding ACL repair and re-tear. My son (16 yr old football player) tore his ACL in Sep-2014 and on 10-Oct-2014 underwent repair and progressed very nicely without any complications. He is able to sprint (not at full speed, he has not been cleared to do that yet), able to jump and land, he is back to weightlifting with the team (trying to reach black shirt level, squatting 225lbs with no pain to his right knee), over all the orthopedic surgeon was very happy with his progress. Well on 04-Apr-2015 he was throwing the football, no hitting or contact and went to do a cut and felt a crunch to his right knee, needless to say, we had an MRI and it read that he had torn his ACL graft right at the femur where it attaches to the bone.
My son is very very upset wants to play this year, his football team brothers and coach are counting on him because he is so good. He is smart as well (3.7 GPA). He eats and drinks football (year round weightlifting). He wants to play this season and then after the season go back for surgery.
Is there a brace he can wear to stabilize his knee till surgery? He feels no pain, has full ROM, nothing has changed (if we didn’t know any better we would not know that his graft was torn). We desperately need your knowledge, we understand that the #1 goal is a healthy knee, but for now is there a brace that will stabilize his knee enough to let him play?
I know you are very busy and it would be unwise to give advice over the phone. But we are literally willing to fly anywhere to have him looked at, if there is a possibility of him playing football this year and then going to surgery right afterwards.
My number is 937-321-3864.
Kindest regards,
Ijeoma Tiggs
Howard J. Luks, MD says
Sorry to hear this … unusual way to re-tear a ligament. What type of graft did he have?
Whether or not he can compete depends on many many issues…
How his knee feels during an exam
Whether or not your son has instability issues or feels that his knee might not be stable.
His size and ability to be braced, etc…
Playing with an ACL deficient knee is possible .. BUT BUT BUT … if his knee becomes unstable, then he is risking injuries to many other structures within the knee.
We would be more than happy to see you if you are interested.