About the Surgery
Introduction
Patient Case History
Pre-Op Preparation
The Procedure
Post-Op & Recovery
Rehabilitation

More Information
About the ACL &
Arthroscopy
Total ACL Tear

videos require RealPlayer

A partial tear of the ACL will gradually get worse over time, becoming loose and eventually turning into a full tear, requiring a full reconstruction. Until recently there has been no treatment for a partial tear so those suffering with this would wear a brace and live with pain and discomfort.

For a multimedia presentation of this section, click below

Every ligament in the body is made up of multiple fibers, like strands of spaghetti that are wrapped tightly together into a band. When a ligament tears, it stretches apart - this is called an incompetent ligament. With a torn ligament, the fibers completely separate.

With a complete tear of the ACL, the thermal procedure described here cannot be used. In this case, reconstruction of the ligament using a graft is required. The graft can come from numerous places such as the patellar tendon, a hamstring tendon, and in some cases, donor tissue. A graft acts as substitute tissue for the ligament that has been torn and will gradually become a new ligament. This reconstructive procedure is much more extensive than the thermal method and the rehabilitation takes longer, up to four months. Most patients cannot resume activities such as running or tennis until four to six months after surgery. Where full tears are most often found in sports-related injuries with younger people, partial tears are seen most often in persons in their 30's, 40's, and 50's.