Dr. Jeff Abrams
Princeton, New Jersey

MRI can image the torn ACL as well as associated injuries. This would include ligaments, chondral injuries, and meniscal tears.

F. Alan Barber MD, FACS
Plano, Texas

Yes. It is not uncommon for the cartilage to be damaged too. You have two types of cartilage in your knee: meniscus cartilage and articular cartilage. The two meniscus cartilages are crescent shaped spacers in your knee. These are torn in about half of the fresh ACL tears. The articular cartilage coats the bones of the joint as a low friction weight-bearing surface. This is commonly bruised with ACL tears, but usually heals with time. Over time, if the ACL is not repaired and buckling takes place, the meniscus cartilage tears in most knees.

Dr. Don Johnson
Ottawa, Canada

After the initial injury, there is a 50% chance of damage to the meniscus. In the acute situation, the meniscus tear may be repaired. In the chronic situation, the incidence of meniscal tear is 75%, and the torn portion of the meniscus usually has to be removed.

Dr. Hugh West
Salt Lake City, Utah

Studies show that 50% of the time there is an injury to either the meniscus or the surface cartilage inside the knee when the ACL is torn. These other injuries can be a source of knee pain with future activities even if the ACL is successfully reconstructed. Sometimes injuries to the surface cartilage or the meniscus can be more of a problem than the actual ACL injury, and they may need to be fixed, with or without reconstruction of the ACL.

Because other injuries are very common when the ACL is torn, we are usually prepared to treat them at the same time as the ACL is fixed. Part of every ACL surgery involves a standard look at the other important structures inside the knee (such as the surface cartilage and the meniscus) and fixing or repairing any damage. Fortunately, although there are occasional exceptions, fixing these other injuries rarely slows the rehabilitation process down or causes any significant problems with the outcome of the surgery.