Individualized anatomic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are often seen in young participants in sports such as soccer, football, and basketball. Treatment options include conservative management as well as surgical intervention, with the goal of enabling the patient to return to cutting and pivoting sports and activities. Individualized anatomic ACL reconstruction is a surgical technique that tailors the procedure to the individual patient using preoperative measurements on plain radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging and intraoperative measurement to map the patients’ native ACL anatomy in order to replicate it as closely as possible. Anatomic ACL reconstruction, therefore, is defined as reconstruction of the ACL to its native dimensions, collagen orientation, and insertion site. The surgical reconstruction is followed by a specific rehabilitation protocol that is designed to enable the patient to regain muscle strength and proprioception while facilitating healing of the reconstructed ACL prior to the patient’s returning to sports activities.

Keywords:

• Anterior cruciate ligament
• anatomic
• conservative management
• reconstruction
• rehabilitation

Declaration of interest

C. Murawski, BSc, C. F. van Eck, MD, PhD, and F. H. Fu, MD, DSc, DPs, have no conflicts of interest to declare. The authors did not receive any outside funding or grants directly related to the research presented in this manuscript. The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh receives funding from Smith and Nephew to support research related to reconstruction of the ACL, not directly related to the research presented in this manuscript.