Dr. Jeff Abrams
Princeton, New Jersey

Those individuals with an isolated ACL and a sedentary lifestyle may not need repair / reconstruction.

F. Alan Barber MD, FACS
Plano, Texas

If you are not a high performance, pivoting athlete and if you do not want to go through the major surgery and rehabilitation process, surgery may not be the right choice for you. For instance, the individual who is only an occasional pivoting athlete (who goes snow skiing once a year), may choose to have a custom made sports brace to stabilize his or her knee, and wear it only when engaged in pivoting activities (such as skiing), instead of having surgery. Surgery is only needed if you want to participate in pivoting activities. If you are willing to stop pivoting, surgery is usually not needed.

Dr. Don Johnson
Ottawa, Canada

If you are an older recreational athlete, you may function fine with activity modification and the use of a brace. Every surgical procedure has a risk benefit and ACL reconstruction is no exception. If you can modify your activities to avoid pivotal motions, your knee may function well without surgery.

Dr. Hugh West
Salt Lake City, Utah

People who have an ACL injury and don't need surgery usually have a few things in common. They are comfortable with the idea of modifying their activities to avoid any situation that stresses their knee or makes it likely to give out. They are usually unsure, or at least uncomfortable, with the idea of being operated upon, and they want to try going without surgery first. It's important to understand that ACL surgery doesn't have to be done right away and that a successful surgery can still be done well after the injury. This gives a lot of people a chance to try their knee out, so to speak, and find out for themselves whether or not they need surgery.