Abstract
This is a visual representation of the abstract.
I am delighted to be the guest editor along with Dr Seth Sherman for this special edition of the Video Journal of Sports Medicine. As President of the ACL Study Group, this collaboration has been seen as an excellent opportunity for members of the group to showcase their research and work. I am grateful to Seth for making the introduction with such a forward-thinking journal.
The ACL Study Group was formed when the relevance of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was little understood, and it is now one of the most researched areas in knee surgery – if not the most studied area. We continue to try and optimize the management of this “little” ligament that causes so much trouble and misery when torn. We are still not there yet in preventing all the problems associated with injury to the ligament; we can rebuild it for sure, but optimizing the fixation and function of the ligament and the knee to prevent later arthritis still eludes us. We know the addition of a lateral tenodesis or anterolateral ligament reconstructive procedure has made the biggest impact in recent years, with a 50% reduction in failure in our young athletes. Contribution from management of collateral ligaments and the meniscus has also improved the functional recovery.
The ACL Study Group is a specific forum for researchers in the field to come together and present research and ideas, bouncing innovation and advances, and fostering lifelong friendships in the challenging, demanding world of advancing knee surgery. We have over 170 members from 27 countries. John Feagin and John Bergfeld have been our leaders and our inspiration, and now research continues, and the ACL Study Group remains the most dedicated group to advance the science of managing ACL injury.
We really hope you enjoy this special edition. It truly represents the international nature of the ACL study group, and I would just like to highlight a few of the videos:
We have an excellent focused video on “Tips and Tricks” for ACL Reconstruction with Soft-Tissue Quadriceps Tendon and Remnant Repair from Volker Musahl.
We have an excellent video on ALL Repair and Reconstruction: Techniques from Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet and the SANTI Study Group.
Walt Lowe has compiled an excellent technique and rationale video on Return to Sport Following ACL Reconstruction in combination With Slope-Correcting High Tibial Osteotomy in the Elite Athlete.
Romain Seil presents Mini-invasive harvesting of quadriceps tendon graft with patellar bone block for ACL reconstruction using a dedicated harvester.
In addition we have 3 videos on revision ACL: Two-Stage Revision ACL technique with Bone Grafting from David Flanigan, Allogeneic bone grafting technique for staged revision ACL Surgery from Eivind Inderhaug, and we have Revision ACL-Reconstruction with Contralateral BTB Autograft, a technique video from Brian Forsythe.
Finally, we have some special cases and also a focus on the immature patient.
I would really like to thank all my colleagues in the ACL Study Group for putting together their thoughts and compiling such clear and informative videos.
Please enjoy this special edition.
Footnotes
Submitted August 28, 2023; accepted August 28, 2023.
The author has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: T.S. received royalties and consulting fees from Conmed, lecturing fees from Smith and Nephew and Joint Operations UK, is a consultant advisor for Joint Operations UK, and is on the medical advisory board for EPISURF. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto.