Indications, Techniques, and Outcomes of Bridge-Enhanced ACL Restoration (BEAR).

Overview

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The current landscape of treating anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears is rapidly evolving with the advent of the bridge-enhanced ACL restoration (BEAR). BEAR is a novel approach to restore the ACL in lieu of conventional reconstruction. BEAR has recently been approved for post-market use by all orthopaedic surgeons for midsubstance or proximal ACL tears. This article provides a review of the indications and outcomes of BEAR, graduating from the Trial 1 stage to the post-market stage, current operative techniques, and the postoperative rehabilitation protocol for BEAR. RECENT FINDINGS: Current research demonstrates similar postoperative patient-reported outcome measures and functional outcomes following BEAR compared to ACL reconstruction in clinical trials. Combining all three BEAR trials, there was an aggregate re-tear rate of 15%. Our post-market published BEAR data shows non-inferior short-term postoperative PROMs and functional outcomes as well as zero re-tears. The early- and mid-term results of BEAR show that it is a potential alternative to ACLR for specific patient groups.