How Is Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Restoration (BEAR) Performed?
#1 – The First BEAR ACL



What is the ACL?
ACL stands for Anterior Cruciate Ligament and it is one of four major ligaments in the knee. The ACL connects the anterior (front) part of the tibia (shin bone) to the posterior (back) part of the femur (thigh bone). It prevents the tibia from sliding forward on the femur but more importantly when cutting, pivoting, or turning to the opposite side, it prevents that knee from giving out in a twisting fashion.
ACL Reconstruction

For the past decade, ACL reconstruction has been the main surgical method to treat an ACL tear. For ACL reconstruction, a surgeon will take a piece of tissue (a “graft”) from another portion of the patient’s body or a donated piece of tissue from a cadaver. The surgeon then prepares the graft to fit inside the injured knee so that it is roughly the same size as the original ligament. Once that is done, the surgeon drills tunnels in the tibia (shin bone) and femur (thigh bone) in order to feed the new ligament into place in the correct location in the center of the knee.
Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Restoration (BEAR) Surgery vs ACL Reconstruction

For the BEAR procedure, a surgeon makes an incision near the patient’s knee to insert the sponge between the torn ends of the ACL. The rest of the procedure is done arthroscopically.