We often hear people involved in sports complaining about the excruciating pain in their knee due to ligament tear, the ligament mostly being the anterior cruciate ligament. A surgery is recommended in this case for ACL reconstruction. ACL Reconstruction is most successful when done via knee arthroscopy. We will be discussing the same here.
What is ACL Reconstruction?
Tears and injuries in the anterior cruciate ligament call for an ACL Reconstruction Surgery. Injuries in the ACL are very common, especially in athletes. Such an injury to the ACL results in an unstable knee and sliding of the joint. But the ACL reconstruction is performed weeks after the injury when the swelling and inflammation reduces. The damaged ligament is removed and then replaced by a new anterior cruciate ligament. The new ACL is created by using a part of another ligament,
usually it is taken from knee or hamstring. Choosing the proper type of graft depends on each patient’s individual condition. A graft is created for the new ACL by using another ligament in the knee or hamstring. A proper graft is considered, depending on the condition and status of the patient.
Knee arthroscopy
The ACL Reconstruction surgery is mostly done via knee arthroscopy and such a technique has 70-90 percent success rates.
What are the procedures?
The ACL Reconstruction takes 2-3 hours when done arthroscopically. 3 tiny incisions are made in the knee after which an arthroscope ( a camera with light ) is placed through one of these holes in order to receive images of the knee joint. The ligament tear is examined and then a saline liquid is pumped into the joint so that the blood and debris are washed away. In addition to this, the surgeon also gets a better view of the joint. Holes are made into the thigh and shin bones to make it set for the graft. Separate incisions are then created to obtain the grafts from either the patellar or the hamstring tendons. The graft is supplied through the tunnel made in the thigh and shin bones after the damaged ACL is removed. After attaching the top of the graft to the femur (thigh bone), tension is applied to it (graft), to fix it to the tibia (shin bone). New bones will be formed at the attachment sites over time.
Our team of experts who are trained to treat an extensive range of conditions related to ACL tear, Knee replacement, and other sports related injuries.For effective ACL reconstruction Surgery in Chennai, you can contact Orthopedic and Sports Surgeon of Rathimed Multi Speciality Hospital, at Anna Nagar, Chennai.
