History of surgery of the anterior cruciate ligament

Early comments on the anterior cruciate ligament were found in ancient literature, and the first scientific reports were published in the nineteenth century. The first surgical treatment of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament was carried out in 1895 by Robson performing a primary suture of the torn ligament. In 1903 F. Lange suggested a complete replacement of the injured ligament using silk ligaments and in 1914 Grekow was probably the first who recommended autogenous transplants by using a fascia lata strip. In 1917 Hey-Groves presented his surgical technique that was the fundament for reconstruction surgery in the following years. Today,the autogenous transplant is accepted to be the golden standard for replacement of the injured anterior cruciate ligament. The bone-tendon-bone transplant of the patellar ligament and the semitendinosus or gracilis tendon are recommended by most surgeons. In the history of anterior cruciate ligament surgery, the surgical technique of the operative procedures has also changed. The evolution started with open arthrotomy followed by mini-arthrotomy and led to arthro-scopically assisted replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament.