How is the surgery performed and what is used to replace the ligament?
ACL reconstruction is an outpatient procedure (in and out the same day), in which a graft will be used to replace the torn ligament. There are 2 types of grafts- autograft (from your body) or allograft (from a cadaver). The 2 most common grafts used are taken from the patellar tendon or the hamstring tendon. There are advantages and disadvantages to both autografts and allografts and your surgeon will discuss with you which one would suit you best. Using an autograft generally provides a stronger graft, but recovery can be more painful due to the additional surgery required to harvest the graft from your body. An allograft tends to produce better recovery results- less pain and swelling, however risk of infection is slightly greater and these grafts are usually less stiff than an autograft.
