ACL Reconstruction in Bethlehem & the Lehigh Valley
A torn ACL is one of the most consequential knee injuries an athlete can sustain, and its treatment pathways are well established. Dr. Michael Hendel, MD, PhD performs arthroscopic ACL reconstruction for athletes and active adults across Bethlehem, Allentown, Easton, and the greater Lehigh Valley, using the techniques he trained in during his residency and sports medicine fellowship at Hospital for Special Surgery.
Dr. Hendel’s ACL expertise runs deeper than the operating room: he co-authored two chapters in the international ISAKOS ACL Surgery textbook — on ACL injury prevention and on treating ACL tears in the multi-ligament injured knee — and he evaluates ACL injuries every season as football team physician for Liberty and Freedom High Schools (PIAA District XI).
Graft Options
- Bone-patellar tendon-bone (BTB) autograft — a long-established choice for competitive and contact athletes
- Hamstring tendon autograft — less anterior knee pain, well suited to many recreational athletes
- Quadriceps tendon autograft — excellent strength profile, increasingly popular
- Primary ACL repair with internal brace — ligament preservation for select acute, proximal tears (see below)
- Revision ACL reconstruction — for failed prior surgery, including complex staged cases
ACL Repair and Ligament Preservation
For carefully selected acute tears in which the ligament pulls off the femur with healthy tissue (proximal avulsion patterns), Dr. Hendel offers arthroscopic primary ACL repair with internal brace augmentation — reattaching and preserving your own ACL rather than replacing it with a graft. This ligament-preservation approach was pioneered at Hospital for Special Surgery by Dr. Gregory DiFelice during the years Dr. Hendel trained there.
When the tear pattern qualifies, repair means no graft harvest, preservation of the ligament’s natural nerve endings that contribute to knee position sense, and often a gentler early recovery. When it does not qualify — which MRI review determines — reconstruction remains the standard treatment, and Dr. Hendel will explain which option fits your knee. Primary repair is appropriate only for specific tear patterns; long-term data are more limited than for reconstruction, and re-tear rates may be higher in younger, high-demand athletes.
About half of ACL tears come with meniscus tears or cartilage damage. Dr. Hendel addresses these in the same surgery whenever possible — repairing rather than removing the meniscus when the tear pattern allows, which protects the knee for decades to come.