Abstract

This classic discusses the original publication ‘Reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). A technique using the central one-third of the patellar ligament’ on the Jones procedure. Published in 1963 in the ‘Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery American Volume’, it was inspired by pioneering surgeons in the field of knee ligament reconstruction. Jones introduced a technique that reconstructed the ACL using the middle third of the patella tendon, leaving it attached to a strip of patella and quadriceps tendon to obtain the necessary length. The strip of patellar tendon was then introduced and secured in a tunnel drilled in an inside-out fashion through the lateral femoral condyle. Although with time technological advances and clinical and biomechanical studies led to profound modifications of the technique described in the original article, the concepts introduced by Jones are still at the base of all the reconstructive techniques of the ACL using a patellar tendon graft.