ACL internal brace procedure Cutting-edge surgery with a rapid recovery time

Relax, you’re in the safest hands. Our expert surgeon has perfected this technique which causes minimal damage to your joint, allowing for a faster recovery time and a lower risk of future complications.

Professor Mackay is a leading expert in his field with a wealth of experience, including having performed 1000+ ACL internal brace surgeries. We pride ourselves on offering the best, most up-to-date care in a safe, comfortable, and pleasant environment. All you have to do is focus on getting better.

Your ACL is the main, stabilising ligament that connects your femur (thigh bone) to your tibia (shin bone). If you have ruptured or torn your ACL it can leave you with a compromised, unstable knee.

Cutting edge ACL internal brace surgery differs from traditional ACL reconstruction surgery because it helps your own damaged ligament repair, rather than replacing it with tissue from another part of your body. The internal brace also provides protection and support for your ligament while it heals, eliminating the need for an external brace or cast.

The beauty of internal brace augmentation is that it works with your body’s own biology, allowing and encouraging the repair of your ACL. While this repair occurs, the internal brace acts much like a seatbelt, protecting your ACL during the crucial period of healing and remodeling.

Traditional ACL reconstruction relies on the harvesting of tissue from other parts of your body, such as your hamstrings or dead donor tissue. If you do still need a graft for what is known as a ‘hybrid’ ACL with internal brace augmentation, this will be smaller and less invasive.

Pioneering internal brace surgery for a repair or reconstruction is an innovative technique that was invented by Professor Gordon Mackay over 13 years ago as an alternative to traditional ACL reconstruction surgery. It is suitable for people of all ages with both new and chronic injuries, as well as those who need revision surgery. It offers lower re-injury and re-rupture rates than traditional reconstruction and a faster recovery.

Early results suggest that this technique has many benefits over traditional surgery, and that the results are as good, if not better, than with traditional procedures to reconstruct your ACL.

What happens during the surgery?

ACL internal brace surgery is performed as keyhole (arthroscopic) surgery. This means that the procedure is performed using special instruments through tiny incisions (cuts) in your skin.

During ACL internal brace surgery, your consultant will drill small holes in your tibia (shin) and femur (thigh bone). They will then repair your damaged ligament with stitches and apply an internal brace to protect and support your ligament as it heals.

ACL internal brace surgery can be performed as a day case procedure, which means you can usually go home later the same day.

You have probably been offered ACL internal brace surgery because you have injured your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Injuries to the ACL are common, especially among young, active people, and the ACL is often stretched or torn during sports such as football, skiing, and basketball. A common cause of ACL injury is a sudden twisting movement, where your foot remains in one position, but your knee turns the other way.

ACL internal brace surgery has several benefits over traditional ACL reconstruction surgery, including:

• Surgery can be performed sooner after the initial injury
• Less pain after surgery
• Faster recovery time
• You can start rehabilitation immediately after surgery
• Protection from further injuries and osteoarthritis, a type of arthritis that causes pain and swelling in your joints

Latest published clinical research shows that there is an 88% reduction in re-rupture and re-injury rates at two years after surgery using the internal brace, compared to a traditional ACL reconstruction. Traditional reconstruction re-injury rates are typically at 10-15% during this timescale.

Surgery can be performed sooner

With traditional reconstruction surgery, the joint needs time to settle before the surgery can be performed. ACL internal brace surgery should be performed as soon as possible after the injury occurred. This means that more of your natural tissues, like bone, ligaments and cartilage, can be saved, reducing the risk of osteoarthritis in the future.

Less post-operative pain

ACL internal brace surgery is a shorter, less invasive surgery than ACL reconstruction surgery, and most people experience significantly less pain after the procedure. Less pain allows you to move around much sooner after your surgery. Early movement after surgery has many benefits, including improving your circulation, building your muscle and ligament strength, and reducing the risks associated with immobility like blood clots and chest infections.

Faster recovery time

Rehabilitation and recovery from traditional ACL reconstruction surgery takes an average of nine to 12 months, whereas most patients undergoing ACL internal brace surgery are fully recovered by around five to six months. Many people resume activities like driving and work in around two weeks and are able to participate in sports specific activities by 12 weeks.

Immediate rehabilitation

After ACL internal brace surgery, you can start rehabilitation immediately, which speeds up your recovery and allows you to return to activities much faster. Early rehabilitation also helps to maintain the long-term health of your knee joint and its supporting muscles.

Protection from future injuries

The internal brace stays in place and provides additional support to your joint, reducing the risk of further injuries. Early surgery also helps preserve more of your natural cartilage which reduces the risk of osteoarthritis.

This innovative approach also uses an internal brace to protect and support your ligament while it heals, reducing your risk for future injuries.

Another difference is that, unlike traditional surgery, ACL internal brace surgery is performed as soon as possible after your injury has occurred. This means that more of your own tissue can be salvaged, reducing your risk of developing osteoarthritis in the future.

In addition, ACL internal brace surgery involves less damage to your knee joint resulting in less pain and allowing for a faster rehabilitation and a shorter recovery time.

Professor Gordon Mackay pioneered the techniques used in ACL internal brace repair surgery 12 years ago as a way to reduce the risk of osteoarthritis following traditional ACL reconstruction surgery.

When discussing some of the benefits pioneering technique, he explained that the difference with the internal brace is that it allows you to begin rehabilitation immediately. It is also very durable and provides additional protection in the future, which prevents further risk of injury to your knee.

ACL internal brace repair surgery has been voted one of the most innovative and relevant developments in the field of sports surgery. It is now used worldwide because people prefer the accelerated recovery it offers and its added benefit of less associated long-term risks with problems like arthritis.

“Although many of my patients are keen to return to sport following this surgery it is just as applicable, if not more so, for those who want to get back to work or everyday life as soon as possible following injury. The internal brace is for everybody! It is a real game changer.

“The internal brace technique offers a modern, more patient-friendly surgery for ligament injuries. Clinical research shows that there is far less chance of re-rupture or re-injury with this procedure.”