Dr. Gregory DiFelice: ACL Repair vs Reconstruction, the Preservation First Algorithm & the BEAR Implant

Welcome to the True Sports Physical Therapy Podcast. In this episode, Dr. Yoni Rosenblatt sits down with Dr. Gregory DiFelice, an orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery who has spent close to 20 years repairing ACLs rather than replacing them.   He lays out Preservation First, his algorithm for sorting ACL tears by tear type and tissue quality, and the four lanes it runs through: repair, BEAR, augmentation, and reconstruction as a last resort. He also explains why the field abandoned repair decades ago, what the 1993 paper that buried it actually said, and why he thinks the current direction of ACL surgery is big, bigger, and biggest.   The second half is built for sports PTs. Dr. DiFelice drains every patient's knee at the first visit, shares the data his group presented on what that does to range of motion and quad firing within 10 minutes, and explains why he moved his protocols off the calendar and onto milestones. He is also candid about the cohort where his own published failure rate was high and what he changed because of it.   If you rehab ACLs, this conversation will change what you think you are treating. Tune in.   #TrueSportsPT #GregoryDiFelice #ACLRepair #PreservationFirst #BEARImplant #ACLRehab #SportsMedicine #KneeSurgery #SportsPhysicalTherapy #RehabPodcast