Speakers
Ricci Plastow
Fazal Ali
Sanjeev Anand
Andy Williams
Chinmay Gupte
Rahul Bhattacharyya
Nicholas Nicolaou
Specialist Society
Session title: Best Practice in ACL Surgery – How to Avoid Complications and Poor Outcomes
Session Chairs: Fazal Ali & Ricci Plastow
Session Description: This session will explore key aspects of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery, focusing on strategies to minimise complications and optimise patient outcomes. Topics include evidence-based approaches to decision-making, graft selection, tunnel positioning, fixation methods, and the role of augmentation techniques. The session will also address thromboprophylaxis and infection prevention, paediatric considerations, and factors influencing safe return to sport. The programme concludes with an interactive discussion to integrate insights and share practical experiences.
Agenda:
14:45 - 14:55 Decision-making in ACL surgery Sanjeev Anand
14:55 - 15:05 Tunnel position in ACL surgery- going around in circles Andy Williams
15:05 - 15:15 Graft choice- which graft for whom? Thomas Rhidian
15:15 - 15:25 Thromboprophylaxis and Graft antibiotics - what is the evidence? Stephen McDonnell
15:25 - 15:35 Fixation choice- does it matter? James Robinson
15:35 - 15:45 Role of augmentation - extraarticular and intraarticular? Rahul Bhattacharyya
15:45 - 15:55 Paediatric ACL - do's and don'ts Nicolas Nicolaou
15:55 - 15:05 Return to sports Chinmaye Gupte
Ricci Plastow is a consultant in hip and knee surgery at University College London Hospital. He studied medicine in Manchester and finished Orthopaedic training in 2019. He completed a fellowship in Vancouver before returning to London for fellowship in arthroplasty and robotic surgery at UCLH. He is a member of the RCS Trainee RADAR group and MSK Robotic Assisted Surgery (RAS) Working Group. He is the trainee lead for the MSK RAS group and is driving future training opportunities in robotic and digital surgery.
Fazal Ali did his MBBS in Jamaica and Orthopaedic training in Sheffield, UK with a Knee Fellowship in Newcastle and a short Trauma Fellowship in New York. He has a special interest in sports injuries to the knee, both in adults and in children. He is a consultant at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and the Sheffield Children’s Hospital where he has helped set up a national referral service for knee problems in children which is the only service in the UK that regularly manages sporting injuries and congenital knee disorders.
He is a former OrthopaedicTraining Programme Director (TPD) for South Yorkshire and is presently the Vice President of BOSTAA (Britsh Orthopaedic Sports Trauma and Arthroscopy Association).
He has published more than 70 scientific papers and chapters and given numerous invited lectures on training issues and knee surgery both nationally and internationally. He has edited ‘Examination Techniques in Orthopaedics’ (Cambridge University Press) which is a best-selling orthopaedic text in its 3rd edition and was recently published in Chinese. He is co-editing two further textbooks, ‘Postgraduate Orthopaedic Clinics’ (CRC Press), due to be released in 2025 and ‘Child and Adolescent Knee Surgery’ (Springer) which is in progress.
Fazal Ali was voted ‘Trainer of the Year’ on six occasions across 2 training rotations. As such, he was given a life-time award for training by South Yorkshire in 2014. In 2017 he was again honoured by the South Yorkshire Orthopaedic Training Rotation with the creation of an annual award: The ‘Fazal Ali Award for Academic Excellence’.
He serves as a senior examiner and assessor for the FRCS(Tr&Orth) examination. He is Chair of Section 1 exam of all ten surgical specialities and sits on the JCIE and T&O Boards. He is also Chair of the International FRCS exam and serves on the board of examiners in multiple developing world countries with the view that this would help advance the standard of orthopaedic training and care in those countries.
Mr Sanjeev Anand works in the specialist knee unit at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. He has a tertiary-level practice in Soft tissue knee and knee reconstructive surgery including paediatric knees.
He is a founder member and Academic chair for the International Society for Knowledge for Surgeons on Arthroscopy and Arthroplasty (ISKSAA) and is the Executive Editor for Journal of Arthroscopy and Joint Surgery. Mr. Anand has led in developing national guidelines for ACL reconstructions. He has also contributed to the development of national guidelines for arthroscopic knee surgery and patellofemoral problems.
He is currently the Education secretary for the British Indian Orthopaedic Society and an executive member of the BOSTAA and British Patellofemoral Society.
Knee surgeon at, and founder of Fortius Clinic, London; and Reader at Imperial College, London.
Fellowship in Brisbane, Australia with Peters Myers / McMeniman. Senior Lecturer / Honorary Consultant at The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore ’97-00 then 15 years at The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
Exclusively ‘sports knee’ surgery now. 90% of patients are professional athletes- he is the usual knee surgeon for many teams including the majority of English Premier League football and rugby clubs. He undertakes approximately 100 ACL reconstructions per year and a multi-ligament reconstruction every 2-3 weeks. This latter work represents one of the World’s largest experiences.
He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles: some award-winning, as well as many other publications. A study of knee motion employing weight-bearing, ‘dynamic’ MRI was awarded The Hunterian Professorship by The Royal College of Surgeons of England for 2005-2006. Current focus is on the MCL after a period of work on the anterolateral soft tissues with relevance to ACL injury, and published improved clinical outcomes in elite athletes by applying the lessons learned in the Andrew Amis lab at Imperial College. He was a lead editor of the 39th Edition of Gray’s Anatomy. A cadaveric study on ramp lesions of the medial meniscus is the 11th most cited meniscus research article per year 1976 – 2019, and another on chondral treatment techniques is 35th most cited publication ever in orthopaedic knee research. His h-index is 46.
He sits on the Board of Directors of ISAKOS and serves on their finance and knee: sports and preservation committees. He is second vice-president of The ACL Study Group and so will be president in 2030. He sits on the Editorial Board of The American Journal of Sports Medicine, and previously the Editorial Board of The Bone and Joint Journal, as well as The ESSKA Sports Committee. He was previously on the executive of The British Association for Surgery of The Knee. In 2002 he was awarded the ABC Travelling Fellowship. He was named in the UK’s Top 100 Doctors by the Times newspaper in 2011. He is the first UK member of The Herodicus Society, a U.S.-based sports surgery society.
He lectures nationally and internationally and delivered the inaugural Werner Müller lecture at ESSKA 2021.
Mr Chinmay Gupte is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Clinical Reader (Associate Professor) in knee and trauma surgery at Imperial College, London, which encompasses St Mary’s and Charing Cross Hospitals. Chinmay is a member of the BASK executive committee and BASK lead in research, as well as NIHR clinical research network NW London lead. He is also clinical director of the 30 yr established Wellington knee unit and CEO of Sportshealing ltd.
His main clinical interests are in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, meniscus root repairs, multiligment injuries, adolescent knee injuries, patellofemoral instability, osteochondral injuries and robotic knee unicompartmental and total knee replacement.
As director of training for trauma and orthopaedics for London deanery NW Thames (2011-2018) Mr Gupte helped reshape training for the consultants of the future in this region. He is also past President of the Royal Society of Medicine Orthopaedics Section. He was awarded a PhD from Imperial College in 2004 for his work on the meniscofemoral knee ligaments and their role in knee arthritis and ligament injury. He won the British Orthopaedic Association Robert Jones Gold Medal Proxime Accessit in 2005. He has published over 100 papers in his research interests which include lateral tenodesis in ACL reconstruction, meniscal repair, MPFL reconstruction, joint fluid analysis, chondral replacement and simulation training of knee surgeons.
His time as captain of Oxford University and professional cricketer in 1995/6 has given Chinmay added insight into the unique needs of sportsmen in returning to sport after injury; experience that he brings to bear in his clinical practice.
Mr Rahul Bhattacharyya is a Consultant Orthopaedic Knee Surgeon at NHS Lanarkshire University Hospitals, Glasgow and at Ross Hall Hospital, Glasgow. He is also Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London. He is currently member of the executive committee of the British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK).
Mr Bhattacharyya has extensive training and experience from world leading centres in the UK, USA and Canada which he now offers to his patients in the UK. His clinical interests are focused entirely around surgery of the knee with a special interest in sports knee injuries with experience in treating elite level athletes. This includes meniscal repair and meniscal allograft transplantation, ligament (cruciate and collateral) repair and reconstruction, cartilage repair and patella stabilisation surgery. He also treats patients with arthritis with a focus on knee joint preservation wherever possible.
Mr Bhattacharyya is a keen academic. He has two higher degrees in research, having completed an MSc in orthopaedics at the University of Edinburgh and an MD (Res) from Imperial College London. Here, he pioneered the use of Cognitive Task Analysis in knee and trauma surgery which led to multiple academic publications and presentations. He has been nominated by the Royal College of Surgeons, England, for innovation in surgical education and for the president’s medal in teaching innovation by Imperial College London for his work in this field. He continues to work in this area in his current role as Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London collaborating nationally and internationally. He also has a keen interest in biomechanics research investigating innovations in surgical techniques in sports knee surgery, research in meniscal allograft transplantation and clinical research ensuring patient outcomes are evaluated to deliver the highest standards of care. He is a keen teacher and trainer, faculty in various national courses, and involved in training the next generation of orthopaedic surgeons.
Nick is a Consultant Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. He trained on the South-East Thames Orthopaedic Circuit and completed Fellowship training at Sheffield Children’s, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital as well as completing a travelling fellowship at Inselspital, Berne prior to becoming a Consultant in 2010.
His clinical interest is the Paediatric Knee and he treats the whole spectrum of pathology from cruciate and meniscal injuries to congenital ligament deficiency and complex patellofemoral problems. He also maintains a clinical interest in management of Osteogenesis Imperfecta and clinical research.
He is the chair of the recent BASK/BSCOS steering committee on soft tissue knee pathology in children and the current BSCOS/BASK paediatric patellofemoral steering committee chair, both of which aim to improve national standards of care, and academic secretary of BOSTAA.
Nick was a founding member of the annual International Kids Knee Conference. In 2018 he connected with the Ambassador Programme to help progress his plans for this event and find a suitable venue. With a venue secured, we then introduced him to a local Event Management Company, Event Management Direct to oversee the delivery of the event. The first conference was hosted in 2019.
Specialist knee surgeon based in Bristol and Bath and a founding partner of Knee Specialists. He is Co-chair of the ISAKOS Sports Knee Preservation Committee, a member of the ACL Study Group's scientific committee, member of the Meniscus International Network. He previously chaired ESSKA's Collateral Ligaments Working Group and is on the steering committee for the UK National Ligament Registry.
He trained in London with a post-graduate Master of Surgery degree at Imperial College investigatng the biomechanics of the posteromedial corner of the knee. His fellowships were at the Clinique du Sport, Bordeaux, France and the Avon Orthopaedic Centre, Bristol, where he later was appointed as a Consultant with Special Interest in Complex Knee Reconstruction. He spent a sabbatical at the International Knee and Joint Centre, Abu Dhabi 2016-2018.
With over 80 publications, his research has earned national and international awards, including winning the British Association of Surgery of the Knee President's Medal, as well as awards at the French Arthroscopy Society and German Speaking Arthroscopy Society. He has recently been involved with the ESSKA consensus on revision ACL surgery, the EU-US meniscus rehabilitation consensus and the ESSKA osteotomy consensus.He frequently teaches and lectures internationally on aspects of sports knee surgery.