Hello, I’m Jonathan Hagan, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon at Tahoe Forest Health System. I’m here specifically to talk about the BEAR implant, which is a new treatment for ACL tears.
Due to the high level of outdoor recreation we have in Truckee, we see a large number of ACL tears. Specifically, it is one of the most common injuries while skiing. We are very used to seeing, diagnosing, and treating this injury.
The BEAR implant is a novel technique because it allows patients to heal their own ACL as opposed to removing their ACL and reconstructing or replacing it with one of their own tendons. Traditionally, a reconstruction was done, and as I mentioned, the ACL fibers were removed and replaced by a patellar tendon, quad tendon, or hamstring tendon.
The BEAR implant is placed between the torn ends of the ACL. This allows the nerve endings that are in the ACL to remain in place and makes people’s knees feel more natural. Ideally, this prevents reinjury and potentially prevents some problems down the road, like arthritis. This also reduces the injury to the knee when we have to take a second graft or a tendon from around the knee, and it allows patients to regain their strength quicker because they lose less strength from the initial surgery.
I had the opportunity to do the first one in this region in 2022. I’ve been very happy with the results of my patients, and my patients have been happy with their results. I am excited to offer this to the North Tahoe community and to continue to use it in how we treat ACLs moving forward.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about the BEAR implant. I’m Jonathan Hagan, an Orthopedic Surgeon at Tahoe Forest Health System.
