New Technique Improves ACL Surgery

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Surgeons from the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York have identified a drilling technique that improves the outcome of surgery to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee. Tears of the ACL are quite common, with between 70,000 and 80,000 reported each year in the United States. Surgeons at HSS perform more than 800 ACL surgeries each year.

Improved understanding of the anatomy of the ACL has allowed surgeons to refine techniques to reconstruct the ACL. "The goal in repairing the ACL is to recreate the normal anatomy, and there are a variety of different techniques to prepare tunnels for ACL reconstruction that have evolved over time," Asheesh Bedi, M.D., a fellow in sports medicine and shoulder surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery who was involved with the study is quoted as saying. "The focus of the study was to compare two very common techniques in terms of their ability to reproduce the native ligament anatomy and restore the stability of the knee after reconstruction in a cadaveric model."

The investigators used ten matched cadaveric knees to compare the transtibial and anteromedial portal drilling techniques. The researchers found that the anteromedial portal drilling technique could effectively restore the native anatomy. The transtibial reconstruction, however, performed inferiorly to the medial portal reconstruction on a number of biomechanical parameters of stability.

"This study clearly demonstrates that restoring the anatomy of the ACL and the stability of the knee is far superior when the femoral socket is reamed through the anteromedial portal rather than the tibial tunnel," David W. Altchek, M.D., attending orthopedic surgeon and co-chief of the Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service at HSS is quoted as saying.

SOURCE: Presented during the annual meeting of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, June 9-12, Keystone. Colo.

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