PreOp Patient Education
Thursday, March 28, 2024

  Your Body
  Alternatives
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  Before Surgery
  Your Procedure
  Recovery

Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Arthroscopic Repair


Your Procedure

This information is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor. MedSelfEd, Inc. disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.
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Now it's time to talk about the actual procedure your doctor has recommended for you.

On the day of your operation, you will be asked to put on a surgical gown.
You may receive a sedative by mouth ...
... and an intravenous line may be put in.
You will then be transferred to an operating table.
In the operating room, a nurse will prepare you for surgery by clipping or shaving your leg.
The surgeon will then apply antiseptic solution to the skin around the knee ...
... and place a sterile drape around the operative site.
The anesthesiologist will begin to numb the lower body by injecting a drug into the small of your back.
To perform arthroscopic surgery your doctor will make a few small, button-hole sized incisions in the area around the knee. An arthroscope is a very small video camera that your doctor uses to see the inside of your knee and to guide the surgery.
Before your doctor can insert the arthroscope, the surgical team must inject a clear fluid into the joint. This fluid will inflate the interior space, and will help your doctor by providing an unobstructed view and enough room in which to work.
The actual surgical instruments will be inserted through one or more other openings small openings.
After verifying that anterior cruciate ligament -- or ACL -- has been severed, your doctor will begin the procedure by removing a piece of tissue from the front of the knee. This tissue, or graft, has bone on both ends and a section of tendon stretched between.
Next, the team drills a hole in the end of the thighbone.
And another in the top of the shin. These holes becomes the sockets for the bony ends of the tendon graft taken at the beginning of the procedure.
The ligament graft is then inserted into place.
When the procedure is complete, the team withdraws the instruments ...
... and the surgical fluid drains safely from the knee.
Following surgery, sterile dressings are applied. To aid in healing, your knee may be stabilized with a brace.

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