title: ACL graft healing and biologics.
abstract: Operative reconstruction of a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has become the most broadly accepted treatment. An important, but underreported, outcome of ACL reconstruction is graft failure, which poses a challenge for the orthopedic surgeon. An understanding of the tendon-bone healing and the intra-articular ligamentization process is crucial for orthopedic surgeons to make appropriate graft choices and to be able to initiate optimal rehabilitation protocols after surgical ACL reconstruction. This article focuses on the current understanding of the tendon-to-bone healing process for both autografts and allografts and discusses strategies to biologically augment healing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UPMC Center for Sports Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Karl F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Bowman
authors.forename: Asheesh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bedi
mesh_terms: D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D059549:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction / Q000379:methods*; D050376:Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Grafting; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013710:Tendons / Q000637:transplantation*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins