Knee Surgeon Perth for ACL injury
ACL Injury
Anterior cruciate ligament tear
ACL injury | knee surgeon Perth
What is an ACL injury?
An ACL injury is one of the most common serious knee injuries and involves a complete tear or rupture to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).
The human knee is vulnerable to injury because it connects two very long bones, the femur (thigh bone) and the tibia (shin bone). These two long levers can exert incredible force at the knee joint.
ACL injury | knee surgeon Perth
What is the Anterior Cruciate Ligament?
The ACL is a tough, rope like ligament that connects and stabilises the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone). It is about four centimetres long and as thick as a pencil. A functioning ACL is critical to knee stability.
The knee joint is held together by four major ligaments. There’s one ligament down each side of the knee – the Medial Collateral Ligament on the inside, and the Lateral Collateral Ligament on the outside. Then there are two major ligaments in the middle of the knee that cross over from front to back. These are the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, which stops the tibia moving forward, and the Posterior Cruciate Ligament which stops the tibia from moving backwards.
The cruciate ligaments also have a significant role in controlling the rotation of the knee. For that reason, it is often a rotational injury such as cutting and changing the direction that causes the ACL to tear.
ACL injury | knee surgeon Perth
CO.RE ACL
In the field of shoulder and knee reconstruction, successful outcomes from an operation are 50% surgery and 50% rehabilitation.
You could say the surgery is the easy bit, the rehabilitation is all hard slog.
Dr Colvin’s CO.RE exercise programs are just that, a core plan for your successful recovery.
ACL injury | knee surgeon Perth
Surgery for an ACL injury
A torn ACL cannot heal by itself. The torn ends of the ligament look like the bristles of a paintbrush, and they are floating around in synovial fluid that fills the knee joint. The ends rapidly shrink into a small stump. For the same reason, it is not usually feasible to repair or reattach a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament. ACL surgery involves reconstruction by an orthopaedic surgeon; where we make a new ligament using a graft. That graft can be one of your ligaments, tendons, or an artificial ligament. The artificial ligament is called a LARS graft.
ACL injury | knee surgeon Perth
Have you damaged your ACL?
As an experienced orthopaedic surgeon who has helped many Perth patients with ACL injuries, Dr Colvin can advise you on your knee reconstruction surgery at your appointment. He will discuss with you the best graft choice for your particular injury and your sporting requirements. Call our practice.