Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
is one of the most devastating and frequent injuries of the knee. Surgical
reconstruction is the current standard of care for treatment of
ACL injuries in active patients. The widespread adoption of ACL
reconstruction over primary repair was based on early perception
of the limited healing capacity of the ACL. Although the majority
of ACL reconstruction surgeries successfully restore gross joint stability,
post-traumatic osteoarthritis is commonplace following these injuries,
even with ACL reconstruction. The development of new techniques
to limit the long-term clinical sequelae associated with ACL reconstruction
has been the main focus of research over the past decades. The improved
knowledge of healing, along with recent advances in tissue engineering
and regenerative medicine, has resulted in the discovery of novel
biologically augmented ACL-repair techniques that have satisfactory
outcomes in preclinical studies. This instructional review provides
a summary of the latest advances made in ACL repair. Cite this article:
