ACL injuries can either be complete or partial. When there is a partial ACL tear, a difficult decision about surgery needs to be made. An ACL reconstruction involves significant rehabilitation, and other operative risks. Deciding when ACL reconstruction is necessary can be a difficult problem, especially when the ACL is only partially torn. So how do we decide when to reconstruct a partially torn ACL?
Unfortunately, incomplete tears of the ACL are difficult to assess. When looking at an injured ACL during an arthroscopy, your surgeon can assess the look and feel of the ligament to make an assessment on the extent of the injury. However, this look and feel method of assessing an ACL is very subjective. Not everyone will agree on what looks good and what looks bad. The better method of assessing a partial ACL injury is based on the aforementioned symptoms and examination findings.
