(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Surgeons from the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS)
in New York have identified a drilling technique that improves the outcome of
surgery to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee. Tears
of the ACL are quite common, with between 70,000 and 80,000 reported each year
in the United States. Surgeons at HSS perform more than 800 ACL surgeries each
year.
Improved understanding of the anatomy of the ACL has allowed surgeons to refine
techniques to reconstruct the ACL. "The goal in repairing the ACL is to recreate
the normal anatomy, and there are a variety of different techniques to prepare
tunnels for ACL reconstruction that have evolved over time," Asheesh Bedi, M.D.,
a fellow in sports medicine and shoulder surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery
who was involved with the study is quoted as saying. "The focus of the study was
to compare two very common techniques in terms of their ability to reproduce the
native ligament anatomy and restore the stability of the knee after
reconstruction in a cadaveric model."
The investigators used ten matched cadaveric knees to compare the transtibial
and anteromedial portal drilling techniques. The researchers found that the
anteromedial portal drilling technique could effectively restore the native
anatomy. The transtibial reconstruction, however, performed inferiorly to the
medial portal reconstruction on a number of biomechanical parameters of
stability.
"This study clearly demonstrates that restoring the anatomy of the ACL and the
stability of the knee is far superior when the femoral socket is reamed through
the anteromedial portal rather than the tibial tunnel," David W. Altchek, M.D.,
attending orthopedic surgeon and co-chief of the Sports Medicine and Shoulder
Service at HSS is quoted as saying.
SOURCE: Presented during the annual meeting of the American Orthopedic Society
for Sports Medicine, June 9-12, Keystone. Colo.
