| PATIENT INFORMATION SHEETS
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| CHRIS
SERVANT |
| ANTERIOR CRUCIATE
LIGAMENT (ACL) RECONSTRUCTION |
Surgical technique |
- Two very small incisions (4-5mm) are made on either
side of the front of the knee. The surgeon then inserts
an arthroscope to see inside the knee joint (keyhole surgery).
Using special instruments the joint is prepared for the new ACL
graft. This involves removing the stump of the torn ACL and also
dealing with any other damage within the joint (such as a torn meniscus).
- If a patella tendon graft is used, it is removed through two
short incisions on the front of the knee. The middle third of the
tendon is taken along with bone blocks at either end where it attaches
to the patella and tibia.
- If a hamstring tendon graft is used, two of the hamstring tendons are
stripped from the hamstring muscles via a short incision on the front
of the knee. These two tendons are then doubled over to form a
sufficiently thick graft.
- After the graft has been taken, the arthroscope is again used to see
inside the joint and two tunnels are drilled in the bone, one in the femur
and one in the tibia.
- The graft is then passed through these tunnels and secured in
place using special screws or other fixation devices.
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