At age 15, Alex Silies became the first surgery patient to hold two milestone patient titles. He’s the very first surgery patient at The Mercy Center for Performance Medicine & Specialty Care. And he became the first Mercy patient in the St. Louis region to receive a new type of ACL implant to speed recovery, compared to other procedures.
Silies was playing soccer for his club team in April when an injury sidelined him. After a trip to urgent care, he followed up with an orthopedic doctor and learned he would need surgery.
Mercy Clinic Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. David Irvine, chief of the division of orthopedic surgery at Mercy Hospital St. Louis, offered Alex and the Silies family a new ACL procedure to consider, and the surgery was performed.
It’s the BEAR, which stands for Bridge Enhanced ACL Restoration.
The procedure uses a sponge-like material containing the patient’s own blood to fill the gap in the torn ACL.