I’m a basketball player at the college level. I blew out my ACL during the last game of the season. Now I’m faced with having surgery. I know there’s two ways to do the operation. Since I don’t have to get back to play right away does it matter which kind of repair I have done?

The two ways to repair and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear both involve a tendon graft. The first takes a piece of bone on either side of the patellar tendon along with a piece of the tendon itself. The second uses a graft from the hamstring muscle, which is then folded over to make it stronger.

Ask your surgeon what he or she advises. Sometimes it’s just a matter of personal preference. Some surgeons use one method more often than the other. In some cases the kind of tear is best repaired one way over another.

The patellar tendon graft gives a firm fixation for athletes who have to get back to their sport faster. The hamstring graft delays return to play but allows for a faster overall rehab program. Sometimes there are problems kneeling with the patellar tendon
graft.

According to a recent review of the studies done so far, both methods have equally good results.