Henry B. Ellis, M.D., pediatric orthopedic surgeon and medical director of clinical research at Scottish Rite for Children Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center, recently joined the Sports Docs Podcast to discuss evolving approaches to ACL reconstruction and how they may help reduce the risk of reinjury in young athletes.
Recorded at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, the episode featured Dr. Ellis alongside sports medicine physician Bonnie P. Gregory, M.D., of UTHealth Houston. The conversation focused on lateral extra-articular procedures, which can be performed in addition to traditional ACL reconstruction to provide additional stability to the knee and reduce the risk of another ACL injury.
Dr. Ellis explained that young, active athletes, particularly those returning to sports that require frequent cutting and pivoting, may be among those who benefit from the additional procedure. Surgeons also consider factors such as an athlete’s anatomy, activity level and history of ACL injury when determining the best treatment approach.
“As soon as you talk to the families and the parents and the athlete themselves and you say this could decrease your recurrent injury rate by half, it’s a no-brainer,” Dr. Ellis said.
The conversation also explored what the procedure may mean for rehabilitation and return to sports. Dr. Ellis shared findings from Scottish Rite’s research registry of about 6,000 ACL cases, which showed no difference in knee stiffness between patients who underwent ACL reconstruction with or without the additional procedure.
