The most common type of knee surgery after an ACL tear is a "reconstruction"
of the ligament. This means that the torn ligament is removed and replaced
with a new one. The techniques for ACL reconstruction have changed a great
deal in the past 10 years. Consequently, ACL knee surgery is now improved
and the rehabilitation generally easier. Most people often want to know
why the ligament can't be repaired by sewing the torn ends back together.
This idea was tried in the past, and in general, it proved very difficult,
if not impossible, to get the ligament to heal with enough strength and
tension that it functioned normally. Today, a part of a tendon usually
from somewhere else around your knee is removed and put in the place of
the torn ACL. Because the ACL is like a rope that is made from lots of
little individual fibers, and it is impossible to get the fibers to grow
back together so that the ligament is strong enough to function normally.
However, in some very special situations a torn ACL may heal on its own
without being replaced. This happens very rarely, and only when the ACL
is partially torn or has pulled cleanly away from the bone.
This video shows how the ACL
is replaced with a part of the patellar tendon.
