Sports medicine stats: Graft selection in ACL surgery
Dr. David Geier is an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. He helps athletes and active people feel and perform their best, regardless of age, injuries and medical history. He has been featured in major media publications and shows over 2,500 times throughout his career.
For ACL reconstructions, a variety of graft options are available, including tissue from the patient (autograft) and tissue from a donor (allograft). For primary ACL surgeries, a majority of orthopaedic surgeons in the United States use autografts, including bone-patellar-tendon-bone and hamstring tendons. Regional variations favoring patellar tendon over hamstrings are found in some parts of North America and vice versa internationally. The use of allograft tissue is less common. This type of tissue is preferred by just 11% of surgeons in an international survey and 22% in the United States.
Source: Sports Health, published online March 2015
Through the stories of a dozen athletes whose injuries and recovery advanced the field (including Joan Benoit, Michael Jordan, Brandi Chastain, and Tommy John), Dr. Geier explains how sports medicine makes sports safer for the pros, amateurs, student-athletes, and weekend warriors alike.
For ACL reconstructions, a variety of graft options are available, including tissue from the patient (autograft) and tissue from a donor (allograft). For primary ACL surgeries, a majority of orthopaedic surgeons in the United States use autografts, including bone-patellar-tendon-bone and hamstring tendons. Regional variations favoring patellar tendon over hamstrings are found in some parts of North America and vice versa internationally. The use of allograft tissue is less common. This type of tissue is preferred by just 11% of surgeons in an international survey and 22% in the United States.