The anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
Written by:The rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament ( ACL ) is a frequent and disabling injury in sports involving sudden changes of direction and jumps such as football, skiing, basketball and handball.
The CEMTRO Clinic is one of the hospitals in the world with the most experience in ACL surgery , surpassing one thousand reconstructions per year. One out of every 16 plasties performed in Spain is done in our Hospital. In addition, a correlation has been demonstrated between the number of surgeries and the best results, fewer complications and plasty failures.
The fact that we have become a reference center is undoubtedly due to Dr. Pedro Guillén , a pioneer in the arthroscopic reconstruction of the LCA in the early 1980s.. Since then, his treatment has evolved thanks to better knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics , the advance in arthroscopic techniques and accelerated rehabilitation .
Reconstruction of the LCA
The reconstruction of the ACL consists basically of replacing the broken ligament with a tissue of the patient or donor that we call plasty. The type of plasty we choose specifically for each patient based on age, sports, previous surgeries and anatomical features such as weight and morphotype of the limb.
This "tailor-made" surgery allows the patient to resume his sports activity and reduces the risk of minor meniscus or cartilage lesions.
The surgery is performed under epidural anesthesia , patients are one day in the hospital and begin to move the knee the day after the intervention. One month they can do a sedentary life without crutches , they get on the bike at 2 months, jog at 3 months and risk sports at 6 months.