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Will my replacement ACL be as good as the original
one?
The answer to this question is a bit complicated. From a functional point
of view, we can say that many athletes who have torn their ACL, and have
opted for a surgical reconstruction and rehabilitation, have returned
to their sports, won national championships, won Olympic gold medals,
and enjoyed long professional careers. Most people who are recreational
athletes are also very satisfied with the results of knee surgery and
find that they can continue doing all of the things that they like to
do after the surgery and rehabilitation. From this point of view, the
function of the knee is nearly completely restored by reconstructive surgery.
However, from a scientific
point of view, it is clear that a replacement ACL does not function as
well as the original ligament. This is because the original ligament has
special nerve fibers that provide each person with a sense of the position
of his or her joint. This function is not replaced when a new ligament
is used to reconstruct the original one. The native ACL also has special
properties that allow it to stretch and relax, and it has a complicated
arrangement of individual fibers that perfectly balance the tension in
the ligament during flexion and extension of the knee. These properties
are also not completely restored when the ligament is replaced. This is
why most patients can always tell the difference between which knee was
injured and which one wasn't, even many years after their surgery.
Surveys of patients have indicated that in the long run, nearly ninety
percent of people who have had ACL surgery say that they are very glad
that they had it done, and would choose to have it done again.
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