CASE REPORT article
Front. Surg.
Sec. Orthopedic Surgery
Rare Case of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in a 26-Year-Old Female Paraplegic Patient: Technical Considerations and Rehabilitation Outcomes
Provisionally accepted
- College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in paraplegic patients are rare and pose unique challenges in treatment planning. Functional knee stability is critical for rehabilitation, especially in those regaining partial mobility. Case Presentation: A 26-year-old female with flaccid paraplegia following polytrauma developed symptomatic right knee instability. MRI (1.5 T) confirmed a complete ACL rupture. She underwent ACL reconstruction using an 8.5 mm graft combining ipsilateral hamstring and contralateral semitendinosus tendons. Arthroscopic reconstruction was performed via an anteromedial portal, with femoral suspensory fixation and tibial bioabsorbable screw. A tailored rehabilitation program incorporating neuromuscular stimulation led to progressive improvement in quadriceps strength (MRC Grade 2 to 4) and gait function. Conclusion: ACL reconstruction can be a viable option in selected paraplegic patients with partial mobility recovery when mechanical instability impedes functional progress. This case underscores the importance of individualized surgical and rehabilitation strategies in this complex population.
Keywords: ACL injury, ACL reconstruction, spinal cord injury, Paraplegia, Rehabilitation
Received: 02 May 2025; Accepted: 19 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Raizah. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Abdullah Raizah, araizah@kku.edu.sa
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.