Advancements in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair—Current State of the Art
Francesco Bosco,
Giuseppe Rovere,
Fortunato Giustra,
Virginia Masoni,
Salvatore Cassaro,
Marcello Capella,
Salvatore Risitano,
Luigi Sabatini,
Ludovico Lucenti,
Lawrence Camarda
Affiliations
Francesco Bosco
Department of Precision Medicine in Medical, Surgical and Critical Care (Me.Pre.C.C.), University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy
Giuseppe Rovere
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
Fortunato Giustra
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Ospedale San Giovanni Bosco di Torino-ASL Città di Torino, 10154 Turin, Italy
Virginia Masoni
Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Orthopaedic and Trauma Center, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
Salvatore Cassaro
Department of Orthopedic and Traumatology (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
Marcello Capella
Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Orthopaedic and Trauma Center, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
Salvatore Risitano
Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Orthopaedic and Trauma Center, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
Luigi Sabatini
Department of Robotic and Minimally-Invasive Arthroplasty Surgery, Humanitas Gradenigo, 10153 Turin, Italy
Ludovico Lucenti
Department of Orthopedic and Traumatology (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
Lawrence Camarda
Department of Orthopedic and Traumatology (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
While anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) has been considered the gold standard for ACL tears, renewed interest in ACL repair has emerged. This review aims to examine the current knowledge regarding ACL repair. A comprehensive literature search was conducted on the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase databases, focusing on the most recent studies up to January 2024. Arthroscopic ACL repair has several advantages, such as resulting in a natural ligament with proprioceptive properties, preservation, and donor graft comorbidity absence. Several ACL repair surgical procedures have been developed thanks to the advancement in new fixation devices. The current literature showed that when performed on a suitable patient with the appropriate lesion type, corresponding to the proximal third with good tissue quality, ACL repair leads to satisfactory outcomes. Despite the benefits of ACL repair with promising results, ACL-R remains the gold standard for ACL lesions. There is still a lack of literature analyzing long-term outcomes; large series with homogenous populations and types of lesions are lacking. Based on the current evidence, further research and higher-quality studies investigating ACL repair will be necessary.
