12/12/2025
Grateful to Dr Austin Vo for the opportunity to observe ACL reconstruction last week.
It was particularly interesting to see his approach to preserving as much of the native bone tunnels as possible when using a hamstring graft. In this case, 's strength training background meant the semitendinosus alone provided adequate graft size, without the need to harvest the gracilis.
A partial meniscectomy was also performed due to a clear bucket-handle tear, which aligned with the mechanical locking symptoms Kortney had experienced prior to the surgery. While this necessitates some early rehabilitation considerations to protect the healing meniscal tissue, it is not expected to cause ongoing issues.
The surgery was a success and she is now progressing through rehabilitation, with the longer-term goal of returning to jiu-jitsu training and competition.
A valuable reminder of how intra-operative decisions directly shape the rehabilitation process that follows.
