Implications of graft choice in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: navigating the controversy

I am pleased to highlight the topic of “Implications of Graft Choice in ACL Reconstruction” in Annals of Joint (AOJ). Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are among the most common orthopedic issues, affecting a wide range of individuals, from professional athletes to recreational enthusiasts. The pursuit of optimal graft choice for ACL reconstruction has been a focal point in orthopedic research, with a myriad of options available, each carrying its own set of advantages and limitations. The overall goal of this series is to dissect the current landscape of ACL reconstruction graft choices, providing insights into the complexities surrounding this decision-making process.

This series aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the anatomy, biomechanics, and postoperative considerations for different grafts used in ACL reconstruction. The purpose is to provide the reader with an understanding of the historical patterns involving graft choice, surgically relevant anatomy, biomechanics of different autografts, biomechanics of different graft fixation methods, and how different grafts affect postoperative performance in ACL reconstruction patients. Our expert contributing authors shed light on the controversy regarding the use of different autografts and present an evidence-based compilation of the main factors to consider for choosing the optimal ACL graft for each patient.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all of the authors and co-authors for their time and efforts in contributing to this series. To the Annals of Joint, thank you for highlighting this important topic.

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Annals of Joint for the series “Implications of Graft Choice in ACL Reconstruction”. The article did not undergo external peer review.

Conflicts of Interest: The author has completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://aoj.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/aoj-23-66/coif). The series “Implications of Graft Choice in ACL Reconstruction” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. N.N.D. served as the unpaid Guest Editor of the series and serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Annals of Joint from August 2022 to July 2024. The author has no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The author is accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Nicholas N. DePhillipo