Surgeons identify unknown knee ligament

Surgeons of Leuven’s University Hospital have identified a previously unknown ligament in the knee. The ligament plays an important role in patients who suffered anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.

ACL tears are common among athletes in sports like soccer, basketball, skiing and football. Despite successful surgery and rehabilitation, the knee of many patient still “gives way” when strained. In their search for the reason, Johan Bellemans and Steven Claes were inspired by a French article from 1879, which suggested the existence of an additional ligament located on the anterior of the human knee.

After four years of research, the Belgian surgeons are the first to provide a full anatomical description of this ligament, called the anterolateral ligament (ALL). They now hope to develop a surgical technique to correct ALL injuries.