New operation to recover from cruciate ligament rupture

The anterior cruciate ligament connects the femur to the tibia. It prevents the tibia from moving forward on the femur and also prevents internal rotation of the tibia. Tears in the anterior cruciate ligament do not heal on their own and must be repaired surgically. This surgery usually involves the removal of tendon tissue from the hamstrings or patellar tendon, so the athlete has to recover from two operations.

Boston surgeons Martha Murray and Lyle Micheli found in a study using pigs that inserting a sponge into the injured portion of the anterior cruciate ligament and flooding it with the patient's blood allowed the ligament to heal on its own. They tried this operation on a limited number of patients. The surgery was so successful that they received approval for more extensive human studies.

This surgery could reduce the time it takes to heal and recover from anterior cruciate ligament surgery from one year to six months.

(The Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2016)