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INJURIE S TO THE a nterior cruciate liga ment (ACL) occur when t he k nee is hy perex tended, t w isted or bent side- to-side. In most ca ses, such a n injur y is of ten a ssociated w it h at h letes. But , it ca n occu r a s a resu lt of a sudden a nd severe accident or from less obvious contact injuries. Without proper treatment, a n ACL injur y ca n develop into a chronic condition, which ca n lead to a n unstable knee, pa in a nd swelling. O ver the la st severa l yea rs, there have been a number of medica l adva nces in ACL reconstr uction a nd repa ir. Much of the focus has been on improved surg ica l impla nts a nd techniques, but these have not a lways met with long- ter m success. Some patient s do not ach ieve good bony i ng row t h or reva scu la r i zation of t he liga ment . O t hers develop ea rly osteoa r thritis. To address these concerns, the FlashFix technique, which relies on biolog ics to improve the outcome, was developed. It is seeing g reater success. Resea rch a nd patients' results have proven that biolog ics sig nif ica ntly improve the hea l- ing process. Biologics include a wide range of products such as vaccines, blood a nd blood components, gene therapy a nd tissues that a re sy nthesized from living orga nisms or their products. They a re then used as preventive or therapeutic agents. The Fla shFi x technique uses a colla gen-platelet-rich- pla sma composit e (CPC). T he composit e ser ves ma ny f unctions including a iding the ad hesion of tendons a nd liga ments to bone. The collagen of the CPC slows the clot deterioration by specif ic enzymes in the knee joint, and this protection promotes prolonged sof t tissue hea ling. Platelet-rich-plasma (PR P), prepa red by centrifugation of the patient 's blood in the operating room, is composed of hig h concentrations of platelets a nd g row t h factors. They a re know n to enha nce the hea ling of bone a nd sof t tissues including tendons, menisci, and ligaments, as well as promote blood vessel in-grow th at the injured area, which is a critica l biologica l response for the hea ling process. These mechanisms are documented in numerous published studies, which conclude that PR P turns on the body 's biolog ica l hea ling response that occurs after a musculoskeleta l injur y. W it h t he F l a s h F i x t e c h n ique , pa t ient s e x p er ienc e i mproved outcomes i nclud i ng a d ra matic reduction i n recover y time whi le a lso reducing the re-tea r rate a f ter ACL reconstruction surger y. Dr. Paul Fleissner developed and trademarked the FlashFix technique in 2015. He is a board-certified pediatric orthopae- dic surgeon specializing in pediatric and adolescent sports medicine, with an interest in sports injuries and fractures. D r. F l e i ss n e r p ra ct i ces at C r ysta l C lini c O r th o pa edi c Center locations in Montrose, G reen and Medina , and he is a Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Northeast Ohio Medical University. ■ 1 6❱❱❱❱❱ C L I N I C A L S E C T I O N to Improve ACL Repair BY PAUL R. FLEISSNER, MD Innovative Technique Uses BIOLOGICS 1 6