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New Option for Repairing a Torn ACL

Surgery is often needed to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee. Doctors have more and more choices now when doing this surgery.

One option is to take a piece of bone and tendon from the patellar tendon (below the kneecap) to replace the torn ACL. The second option uses graft tissue from a donor rather from the patient. A third option is to take a piece of the hamstring muscle as the graft tissue.

A new and fourth method has been in use since 1996. This is the bone-quadriceps tendon (BQT) graft. In the BQT procedure, the torn ligament is replaced by taking part of the top of the kneecap and its attached tendon. The tendon in this case is the quadriceps tendon.

ACL repair with BQT grafts have some definite advantages. There is less pain and fewer problems for workers or athletes who use the kneeling position. This graft is thicker and helps fill the tunnel in the bone made during the operation. The BQT also offers an alternative method of repair when one of the first three options is used and fails.

BQT grafts used for ACL repairs have been in use since 1996. These thicker grafts are of excellent quality. The author of this report believes patients have fewer problems after surgery and can safely take part in an aggressive rehab program afterwards.

References: José Carlos Noronha, MD, PhD. Reconstruction of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament With Quadriceps Tendon. In Arthroscopy. September 2002. Vol. 18. No. 7. Pp. E37-E42.

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