APEX Knee Navigating Pearls and Pitfalls-ACL Primary Repair: is There a Role Debate 1--No

ACL Primary Repair: is There a Role Debate 1--No

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Andrew Gieseland reviews ACL repair history, data, and modern techniques, arguing against primary repair as standard. Early ACL repair showed high failure rates, leading to reconstruction becoming the gold standard. The MOON reconstruction data with 3,000+ patients shows durability but notable revision rates. Contemporary repair methods, including scaffold-enhanced and internal stabilization techniques, show promise but have high failure rates, especially in younger patients. While repair avoids graft harvest and may reduce osteoarthritis risk, many factors—like injury type, patient age, and tear location—affect outcomes. Current evidence favors reconstruction, with repair remaining experimental pending further research and clear patient selection criteria.

Asset Caption

Dr. Andrew Geeslin

Keywords

ACL repair history

ACL reconstruction

MOON study

scaffold-enhanced repair

ACL repair failure rates