Anonymous
Years ago

ACL recon -Hamstring or Patella tendon???

I read in another post that Erin Phillips had the hamstring ACL recon.Although I'm sure Erin is being treated by the best and everyone is treated on an individual basis, from what I have read and heard I thought that the patella tendon (although a great deal more painful) was the one recommended for athletes. Does anyone have an opinion/knowledge on this (I'm sure ongoing) debate??

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thomo
Years ago

having had both, have found less issues with the hamstring vs the patella reconstruction, i remeber the the surgeon saying that the patella is used mainly in football/rugby and hamstring in cricket tennis basketball,

i was back playing cricket 9 months after the hamstring but it took me 14 months with the patella

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Sawmeinfhalf
Years ago

Have also had an acl recon as a result of a basketball injury and the way my surgeon explained it to me was they always go for the patella for the first recon. Apparently it's easier for them and better for recovery. They split the patella into thirds longways and take the middle third out to use for the new acl. He said the consequences of having a small piece of patella missing is not nearly as bad as hamstring tendon because it's a stronger tendon, which makes sense - how many patella strains do you see versus hamstring strains? Hence having a stronger hamstring is more important for athletes returning to their sport. He said if the acl goes again they use hamstring tendon next.

best of luck with the recovery Erin.

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Bung Knee
Years ago

I think there are pros and cons for each type of surgery, and usually the surgeon will have a preferred method they like to stick to. I'm pretty sure Greg Keene at Sportsmed prefers the patella, and comes highly recommended from his peers & patients alike, while Spriggins (Erin's surgeon) prefers the hamstring, and likewise gets a fair amount of acknowledgement for his work.
I myself had a hamstring done, and apart from a hiccup with a small tear around 2 months in to rehab it's been smooth sailing. 8-9 months turnaround time to being back on court.
Erin's surgeon is top notch with a hamstring recon, so one would hope that she will have a speedy recovery with no problems.

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Brendan Watson
Years ago

Ive had two acl recos on the same knee first one was a patella graft it lasted nearlly ten years to the day the second was a hamstring graft it only lasted three and a half years and it didnt have any where the strenous activity that the patella graft did. Both operations were performed by a highly respected surgeon in the same private hospital.

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ACL recon -Hamstring or Patella tendon???

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