Table 1. Brief history of ACL reconstruction.
| Year | Author | Technique | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1895 (published in 1903) | Robson AW (14) | Suturing femoral site | Good stability at 8-year |
| 1926 | Perthes G (16) | Sutured the ligament to the bone using a bronze and aluminium wire | Excellent results with this technique at 1–4 years in three patients |
| 1903 | Lange F (19) | Stabilised ACL with HTs and extra-articularly positioned “artificial ligaments made of silk” | 4 cases of ACL deficiency |
| 1917 | Groves EWH (22) | Used fascia lata graft | 23 promising cases |
| 1920 | Putti V (26) | ACL collateral ligaments reconstruction using flaps of the fascia lata | Patient was able to walk again 5 months postoperatively |
| 1933 | Lange M (20) | Silk augmented with ilio-tibial band | Clinical success |
| 1934 | Galeazzi R (27) | Hamstring autograft | 3 cases at 18 months: stable knee with full extension and only a mild reduction of flexion |
| 1936 | Campbell W (32) | “Tibial graft” consisting of the medial third of the patellar tendon, part of the QT, and the prepatellar retinaculum | 53% (9 of 17) of operated patients had an excellent outcome and were able to return to sports within 6 to 10 weeks after surgery |
| 1957 | D’Aubigne RM (29) | Revisited Galeazzi’s method using a pedicled semitendinosus autograft and passed gracilis autograft through a transfemoral tunnel | 55 cases with good success |
| 1963 | Jones KG (33) | Reconstruction of the ACL using the central one-third of the patellar ligament | – |
| 1972 | Keyl W (76) | Anatomic reconstruction technique for the first time, using two separate ACL bundles | – |
| 1976 | Kennedy JC (67) | Kennedy-LAD: a synthetic tape made of polypropylene | Both acute repair and repair with the LAD failed in up to 30% of cases, and the authors hence discouraged any form of repair other than autograft reconstruction |
| 1977 and 1979 | Marshall JL and MacIntosh DL (18,37) | QT substitution technique, which involves one-third of the entire central extensor mechanism, with a large portion of prepatellar aponeurotic tissue | 130 cases with promising good results |
| 1980 | Puddu G (53) | Hamstring harvested proximally, widening the tibial tunnel with an additional joint opening positioned entirely medially, and the internal rotation effect of the semitendinosus was preserved | 12 patients at 8 months with stable knee |
| 1982 | Dandy DJ (44) | First arthroscopic ACL reconstruction using a synthetic graft | 8 patients with good results at 1 year |
| 1982 | Lipscomb AB (54) | Combined the semitendinosus and gracilis tendon autografts | 51 patients, 26.2 months of follow-up; hamstring strength was found to average 99% compared to the normal knee |
| 1984 | Blauth W (62) | Central QT graft with a bone plug | 53 patients with apparently good results |
| 1988 | Friedman MJ (56) | Four ligament strands | Despite several smaller modifications, set the standard for ACL reconstruction with hamstrings for the next 25 years |
| 1998 | Marcacci M (60) | Over-the-top technique | 40 patients; 36 months. Excellent clinical score, full range of motion, 100% return to sport |
| 1999 | Muneta T (82) | Revised DB technique | 54 patients, 2 years of follow-up. two-bundle procedure showed a better trend with respect to anterior stability compared with the SB technique under the same aggressive rehabilitation |
ACL, anterior cruciate ligament; HT, hamstring tendon; QT, quadriceps tendon; LAD, ligament augmentation device; DB, double-bundle; SB, single-bundle.