ACL Registry

The ACL Registry is an important initiative developed and supported by Hospital for Special Surgery to follow patients with ACL injuries to better understand treatment outcomes. Patient questionnaires provide information about functional levels over time. The information is kept in a secure database, and used for research studies.

The ACL registry will help us improve the quality of care for patients who have been treated for sport related ACL injuries. The sports medicine community will learn about the most effective treatments for both short and long-term outcomes.

After your surgery, we will send you questionnaires in the mail or by email at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years to assess how you are feeling and how well your knee is functioning.

About ACL Reconstruction Surgery

ACL reconstruction is a commonly performed procedure. It is generally scheduled between two and six weeks after the injury occurs in order to allow inflammation in the area to subside. Today, the majority of ACL reconstructions are performed using arthroscopic techniques (“Endoscopic ACL Reconstruction”), in which a combination of fiber optics, small incisions, and small instruments are used. The current, widely accepted procedure uses an arthroscopic method to place a tendon graft in the knee, avoiding large and painful incisions. The tendon may be drawn from many sources, including the patient’s own hamstring tendon, patellar tendon, the quadriceps tendon, or an allograft (human donor tissue) might be used. The type of tendon is determined on a case-by-case basis.

How to Enroll in the Registry

You can enroll in the ACL Registry electronically when you receive an HSS email after your surgery has been scheduled. Click the box that says “enroll here” on the upper right side of this webpage. This will direct you to enter your UserID and PIN provided to you in the email message. You will then be asked a series of questions about your current health and the state of your knee. If you are unable to enroll online, a research assistant is available to guide you through the process.