Your doctor has told you that you have a torn anterior cruciate ligament in your knee and
has recommended arthroscopic surgery in order to repair it. But what does that actually
mean?
The knee is one of the most complex and one of the most important joints in your body.
It is made up of bone, ligament and cartilage. Damage to any individual part can dramatically
restrict the normal movement of the leg and can even interfere with the ability to walk.
Let's take a look at the way the knee joint is put together. The femur, or thigh bone,
meets the fibula and tibia to create a flexible joint called the knee. Helping to stabilize
the knee are the ligaments.
The ligaments in the knee are strong, flexible cords of tissue that hold the bones together.
They maintain stability and allow the normal range of motion when you walk or run. The
anterior cruciate ligament - or ACL -- guides the tibia, or shin bone. It helps keep your
feet below your knees and your legs from buckling as you walk.
Twisting or bending the knee during sports or other strenuous activity can damage the
ligament.
During an injury, patients often report feeling or even hearing a sudden "pop" in their knee
at the exact moment when the ligament tears.
Other symptoms include swelling, restricted movement, pain and even the inability to stand
on the affected leg.
To perform arthroscopic surgery your doctor will make a few small, button-hole sized incisions
in the area around the knee. An arthroscope is a very small video camera that your doctor
uses to see the inside of your knee and to guide the surgery.
Before your doctor can insert the arthroscope, the surgical team must inject a clear fluid
into the joint. This fluid will inflate the interior space, and will help your doctor
by providing an unobstructed view and enough room in which to work.
The actual surgical instruments will be inserted through one or more other openings small openings.
After verifying that anterior cruciate ligament -- or ACL -- has been severed, your doctor
will begin the procedure by removing a piece of tissue from the front of the knee. This
tissue, or graft, has bone on both ends and a section of tendon stretched between.
Next, the team drills a hole in the end of the thighbone.
And another in the top of the shin. These holes becomes the sockets for the bony ends
of the tendon graft taken at the beginning of the procedure.
The ligament graft is then inserted into place.
When the procedure is complete, the team withdraws the instruments and the surgical fluid drains safely from
the knee.
Following surgery, sterile dressings are applied. To aid in healing, your knee may be stabilized
with a brace.