Table 1.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages	Disadvantages
Reduces risk of donor-site morbidity, as harvesting an autograft is not required	Learning curve for the technique that must be overcome by surgeons
Expands the indication for repair by including mid-substance ACL tears	Increased surgical time
Can be used in young, athletic patient populations	Recommendation to avoid knee flexion or to irrigate the joint immediately following BEAR fixation (preventing arthroscopic visualization postfixation)
Absolute reapproximation of the torn edges of the ACL is not required for healing as the scaffold bridges the gap	Immediate postoperative period requires immobilization in extension
Potentially decreases the risk of developing premature osteoarthritis as compared to reconstruction	Lacking in large-population, high-quality studies relative to reconstruction
May result in better postoperative hamstring strength than those undergoing reconstruction with ST-G autograft

ACL, anterior cruciate ligament; BEAR, bridge-enhanced anterior cruciate ligament repair; ST-G, semitendinosus–gracilis.