Ligaments are bands of tough, elastic tissue that bind bones together at a joint, such as the knee. When a ligament is torn, it can either be repaired or replaced. Repair is the first choice; however, severe injuries usually necessitate replacement. Perhaps the most common ligament replacement surgery is for the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in the knee. Autografts (using tendons from elsewhere in the patient's body) were instituted around the 1900s with varying results, and are still the most popular and successful. In Germany in 1912, surgeons began using tendons from Kangaroo tails in xenografts. These replacements were relatively unsuccessful due to rejection and infection. Rehabilitation in both instances could take up to two years; however, advances in autografts and rehabilitation techniques have considerably reduced recovery time.

Use of artificial ligaments began when the W. L. Gore Company developed a ligament made from Gortex, the porous...