Exploring better options for ACL repairs

by Lisa Fratt

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear can be a devastating sports injury. Every year, 400,000 people, many of them teen and young adult athletes, sustain ACL injuries or tears. Martha Murray, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital, worked with a team of colleagues to create a new procedure known as bridge-enhanced ACL repair (BEAR) that encourages natural healing. Watch this animation to see how it works:

Why do surgeons need a better way to repair ACL injuries?

The current standard of care, surgical ACL reconstruction, is a good solution. But it is linked with a 20 percent risk of re-tearing the ACL, and many young patients face an increased risk of arthritis. Instead of removing the torn ACL and replacing it with a tendon graft, the BEAR technique uses a special protein-enriched sponge to encourage the torn ends to reconnect and heal. The researchers have completed a 20-patient safety trial and are enrolling additional patients in a 200-patient clinical study.

Read the full post on Vector: Inside bridge-enhanced ACL repair

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