Patient Story · Video
A torn ACL — restored, not replaced.
Michele shares her experience with the BEAR (Bridge-Enhanced ACL Restoration) implant — a ligament-sparing technique that uses a protein-based scaffold to enable the patient's own torn ACL to heal back together, rather than being replaced with a graft.
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About this story
A new approach to ACL surgery — preserve the ligament, don't replace it.
For decades the standard treatment for a complete ACL tear has been reconstruction — removing the torn ligament and replacing it with a graft taken from another tendon. The BEAR implant changes that approach for selected patients seen soon after injury.
The BEAR (Bridge-Enhanced ACL Restoration) implant is a small bovine-derived collagen scaffold mixed with the patient's own blood and placed between the two torn ends of the ACL. The scaffold supports the body's natural healing response, allowing the patient's own ACL to heal back together rather than being replaced.
Michele shares her experience with this technique performed by Dr. Gomoll. For an overview of all ACL surgery options — traditional reconstruction, BEAR, and revision ACL — see our ACL surgery page.
About the procedure
The BEAR Implant
BEAR (Bridge-Enhanced ACL Restoration) is the first FDA-approved alternative to traditional ACL reconstruction. Rather than removing the torn ACL and replacing it with a graft, the BEAR implant — a small protein scaffold mixed with the patient's own blood — is placed between the two torn ends. The scaffold supports the body's natural healing response so the patient's own ACL can knit back together. Best suited to specific tear patterns in patients seen soon after injury. More on ACL surgery options →
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Hear from more of Dr. Gomoll's patients in their own words about how they got back to the lives they love.