Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

What is an Anterior Cruciate Ligament?
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament ( ACL ) is a structure inside the knee that enhances stability and overall function.

What are my treatment options if the anterior cruciate ligament is torn?
Individuals who injure their anterior cruciate ligament ( ACL ) can be treated nonoperatively or with surgery. Your doctor will discuss these two options with you and make a recommendation based on the severity of your injury, your symptoms, and your activity level.

What types of anterior cruciate ligament grafts are available should I decide to have anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction?
There are two main types of anterior cruciate ligament ( ACL ) grafts: autografts and allografts. Autografts come from your own tissue. Autografts can be harvested from several places including your own patella tendon, quadriceps tendon, or hamstring tendons.

Allografts, on the other hand, come from a donor. Donor patella tendon, achilles tendon, quadriceps tendon, anterior tibial tendon, and posterior tibial tendon are some of the potential sources for allograft ligaments. Allograft reconstruction has been widely performed for over 20 years. In fact, the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) reports that accredited tissue banks distribute 1.5 million allografts annually.

Which type of graft should I have?
Since an autograft reconstruction utilizes your own tissue, it does not have to be processed in any manner before it is used to reconstruct your anterior cruciate ligament. However, the harvest procedure itself can result in pain at the harvest site and more pain post operatively, a larger scar, increased operating time under anesthesia, and with some techniques, increased pain under your knee cap.

Studies show that anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with an allograft tendon results in less pain, better function, and fewer activity limitations after surgery when compared to an autograft tendon. The pain and scarring associated with autograft harvesting is also eliminated. Additionally, the operative time is decreased, which results in less time under anesthesia. While long-term clinical results have shown allograft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction to be very successful, concern over potential disease transmission has been raised. The Clearant Process® was developed to address this concern and improve the safety of allograft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, so patients can take advantage of this less invasive surgical procedure and get back to their regular lifestyle sooner.

What is the Clearant Process®?
The Clearant Process® is a patented groundbreaking sterilization technology that dramatically reduces the risk of infection in allograft tissue.

What are the benefits of a Clearant Process® allograft tendon over other allograft tendons?
While traditional allograft tendons are processed to remove potential infecting agents, there are still reported cases of disease transmission. The Clearant Process® significantly inactivates every known agent that can transmit infection to patients, making the graft much safer. Allografts treated with the Clearant Process® are considered sterile to the same level as a medical device such as a scalpel, with the risk of infection virtually eliminated.

Does the Clearant Process® alter the strength of the allograft?
A large amount of testing has been performed to validate the Clearant Process®. Lab tests show the Clearant Process® is effective in eliminating bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa without compromising the allograft tendon strength, bone strength, or impeding the incorporation of the graft into the surrounding bone.

What they're saying

"Aseptic processing only serves to minimize the introduction of new microorganisms during allograft tissue recovery and tissue manufacture; a validated sterilization process, in contrast, reduces the numbers of all living microorganisms to benchmarked levels.1

We found that the risk of SSI (surgical site infection) following implantation of aseptically processed tissue was >3 times the risk associated with implantation of either autografts or sterile allografts.1

Notwithstanding the excellent safety record of allograft tissues, we believe that there is a low yet tangible risk of infection associated with implantation of aseptically processed tissues.1

1: Crawford, Christine, et. al., Reply to Gocke (Safety of Aseptically Processed Allograft Tissue), Correspondence of Clinical Infectious Diseases,  2006:42 p.576 (15 February). Note: Dr. Crawford is not affiliated with Clearant.

The advantages of Anterior Cruciate Ligament allografts treated with the Clearant Process®

• Reduces recovery time and discomfort due to only one surgical procedure instead of two.

• Ensures safety and sterility of tissue to virtually eliminate risk of infection.

• Protects strength and effectiveness of tissue for better results.

For safer anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using allografts, ask your doctor about the Clearant Process®.

Links

Clearant FAQs

"What many don't know about transplanted tendons" from National Pulbic Radio