How Does A Woman Know If She Needs An Allograft Or An Autograft For Her ACL Surgery? - Dr. Johnson (VIDEO)
Dr. Johnson explains how a woman can choose between an allograft or an autograft for her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery.
More Videos from Dr. Darren Johnson 23 videos in this series
Dr. Johnson:
In general, in younger people, what do I mean by “younger?” So let’s take, let’s say 25, let’s say the 25 down to 12. So that person, what we have found, generally is more active because they haven’t entered the job world yet, and they don’t have bills to pay, so they are going to do more ACL-dependent stuff. So what we have found in that patient, they probably do better using their own tissue, okay?
When you get older, what we have found is that, and this has to do strictly with patient demand, what are you going to do to challenge your knee? An allograft is an option. So it’s a decision that I think the patient has to make, because there are a lot of patients that just say, “I am not comfortable with the cadaver tissue in my body. I do not want the risk of an infection or disease transmission.” That is very, very low, but it’s there; it’s real. So they need to have that discussion between patient and surgeon.
About Dr. Johnson, M.D.:
Dr. Darren L. Johnson, M.D., received his medical degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles and his fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Dr. Johnson is currently Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of Sports Medicine at the University of Kentucky. His clinical interests include arthroscopy, knee and shoulder reconstruction and the double-bundle procedure for ACL repair.
Dr. Johnson was named among the Top Doctors for Women by Women’s Health magazine in 2008.
