Ligament Repair Surgery

A sprained ankle that never quite recovers and turns over on every uneven pavement. A knee that wobbles sideways after a bike accident. A thumb that can't pinch a key after a fall. Ligaments are the tough bands that hold one bone to another, and when one tears completely or heals too loose, the joint stops feeling trustworthy.

Ligament repair surgery covers a group of operations for torn ligaments other than the ACL, which has its own page on ACL reconstruction. A repair stitches the torn ligament or reattaches it to the bone with small anchors. When the ligament is shredded or the tear is old, it's rebuilt with a tendon graft instead, which is called reconstruction.

Many ligament injuries don't need an operation. Most tears of the MCL, on the inner side of the knee, heal in a brace, and most ankle sprains recover with physiotherapy. When surgery is the right call, the joint is usually much steadier, though ligaments heal slowly and full recovery often takes six months or more.

When a tear is likely to heal on its own, our orthopaedics team starts with a brace and physiotherapy. Knee ligament tears that do need surgery, including PCL injuries, are repaired arthroscopically where possible.

An MRI or stress X-rays show which ligament is torn and how badly. Tears are graded from 1 (stretched) to 3 (completely torn), and surgery is mostly for grade 3 tears like these.

Ligaments have a poor blood supply, so they heal slowly. The joint is protected first, then movement is brought back gradually so the healing tissue isn't stretched out.