Learn About The Process Of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair/Reconstruction
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is located in your knee. This ligament is crucial to help you move and plays a vital role in the functioning of your knees. The repair or reconstruction of ACL is required if there is any injury or defect in your knee that causes the ligament to tear. Sports players who need to run very fast and often change directions very quickly commonly have injuries to this ligament and require ACL reconstruction or repair. So, if you are a sports player who has been prescribed the procedure or just looking to learn about something new, let’s learn about the process, risks, and recovery period for ACL repair/reconstruction.
What’s ACL Repair & Why It’s Done?
ACL repair is a surgical procedure that’s conducted to repair or reconstruct the Anterior Cruciate Ligament located in the knee. Before you learn about how the procedure is performed, let’s take a quick look at the possible reasons doctors will prescribe an ACL repair/reconstruction procedure to you.
Suppose you have an injury to your ACL caused by heavy activity or sports. Injuries can also be caused for other reasons, such as advanced age and unusual physical activity. However, athletes and sports players are the ones that most commonly suffer from ACL injuries.
Suppose you were in an accident that injured your knee badly. You might require ACL repair or reconstruction. It should be noted that usually, ACL reconstruction is required if you have torn several ligaments, and the repair procedure can be performed if the injury is less comparatively.
Now that you know the details about why this procedure is prescribed, let’s take a closer look at the procedure itself and how it is performed.
How is ACL Reconstruction or Repair Performed?
The ACL reconstruction procedure is performed under general anesthesia, which puts the patient to sleep ultimately. This surgical procedure starts by making small incisions in the knee, where a small pipe is inserted. The pipe has a camera and light attached to it, which acts as the doctor’s eye inside your knee. Once the camera is in place, doctors create other incisions in order to insert the surgical tools inside the knee.
The procedure starts when the doctors take out the torn and injured ligament from your knee, and the replacement process is started. There are two ways the replacement process is done; the first option is to get the replacement ligament from a tendon in your body. This replacement ligament is known as a graft. The second option for getting the graft is to get it from a deceased donor.
Once the graft is secured, surgeons will screw the graft into your shinbone and thighbone. This will secure the graft in the right place, and it will work as the guide for the growth of new tissue.
So, that’s how the process of ACL reconstruction or repair is completed. Let’s review the risks of this procedure.
What Are The Risks of ACL Repair?
ACL repair and reconstruction are fairly safe procedures, and as microsurgeries, they don’t pose any immediate threat to a patient’s life. However, every surgical procedure is sure to have some risks; the risks of ACL repair are mentioned below.
Infection at the site of surgery
Knee stiffness
Wrong positioning of the graft
Co-Containment injuries
Conclusion
ACL injuries are pretty common among sportspeople, and ACL reconstruction or repair procedures can be crucial in helping them bounce back from their injuries. ACL repair procedures can help a sportsperson revive their career following injury, making them very popular. However, any surgery is only successful when done right, and if you want your ACL repair/reconstruction surgery performed by experienced and qualified doctors, be sure to visit MediPulse hospital. You can check out the hospital website to learn more about ACL reconstruction surgery at MediPulse.