When athletes recover from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery, they don’t expect to tear their ACL in the opposite knee after returning to sport. These contralateral tears are less common among BEAR Implant patients than industry benchmarks, based on two-year results of the BEAR II pivotal study, they can still occur.

Logan Morrissey and Payton Tapia are two athletes who share the unique experience of experiencing contralateral tears and choosing ACL restoration with the BEAR Implant to get them back to playing sports. Logan has returned to baseball, while Payton is currently in rehab with the goal to get back to soccer. Alongside their parents, Logan and Payton explored treatment options for their first ACL injuries and found Texas orthopedic surgeons Dr. Richard Rhodes in Plano and Dr. Ikechukwu Onyedika in El Paso.

Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Onyedika provide insights below on the benefits of ACL restoration over reconstruction in young athletes, while Logan, Payton and her mother Catie DiFelice shared more about why they chose the BEAR Implant twice, the rehab experience and how they’re doing today.

ACL Restoration Over ACLR for ACL Tears in Young Adults

ACLR surgery uses either a graft from your own body or from donor tissue to replace the ACL. It is the most commonly used surgery for ACL tears. However, it is not an ideal surgical option for children or young adults due to their open growth plates. Also called a physes, growth plates are areas of cartilage located at the ends of the femur and tibia that play a critical role in bone growth. Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Onyedika are a part of an increasing number of pediatric surgeons who are opting for ACL restoration with the BEAR Implant instead of ACLR. The BEAR Implant works with a child’s body to heal its own ACL as the musculoskeletal system continues to develop, without disturbing open growth plates.

“The BEAR Implant technology has essentially revolutionized the way I treated repairable ACL tears,” Dr. Onyedika shares. “In my practice, it has been an excellent tool in the treatment for my skeletally immature patients like Payton. ACL restoration is less invasive than an ACL reconstruction and decreases the chances of damage to the physes since there is less drilling and no graft site pain. Anecdotally, it has also significantly decreased my ACL retear rates for my high-level young athletes.”

Like Dr. Onyedika, Dr. Rhodes’ preferred treatment for ACL tears in his pediatric patients is the BEAR Implant due to minimal trauma to the physes. “Each knee injury is unique, so we have to assess the tissue and evaluate if the knee is a good fit for the BEAR Implant,” Dr. Rhodes says. “If there is tissue to work with, the BEAR Implant is my first choice to minimize effects on future growth. For young athletes with open growth plates, the traditional surgical methods are a compromise that rarely provide a fully functional knee.”

Round One: Choosing the BEAR Implant

Logan is an 18-year-old baseball player from Texas who currently attends the University of Oklahoma. He was just a 15-year-old sophomore when he tore his ACL for the first time hitting a ball during a high school scrimmage game. Logan’s dad, who has continued to experience pain after undergoing a traditional hamstring graft for his own ACL tear 13 years ago, was determined not to let Logan go through what he went through and thought the idea of healing the ACL naturally with the BEAR Implant was intriguing.

“I knew that with ACL restoration, none of my other body parts needed to be harvested and it wouldn’t compromise the rest of my leg,” Logan says. “I liked that I would be able to maintain the original anatomy of my knee and if needed, I could always get ACLR later. To me, it was worth a try.”

Logan’s rehab for his first ACL tear went better than he expected, and his progression with the physical therapy exercises went smoothly as he was vigilant about following the rehab protocol. For him, the hardest part was to get his quads firing enough to get back to running and from a mental perspective, he was worried about retearing his ACL and planting his knee. Logan has been playing baseball since he was 6.

“The best feeling in the world is hitting a ball hard or striking someone out,” Logan shares. “My return to sport goal was to get back to playing at a high level and getting to a point where I wouldn’t worry about my knee. I was able to get cleared to return to baseball nine months after surgery, and I was able to play the back half of the summer season and even won our summer tournament. I also ended up making my high school team during fall tryouts sophomore year. My knee felt like nothing had ever happened and the scars were so tiny, people couldn’t even tell that I had surgery.”

14-year-old Payton Tapia is also a dedicated athlete who tore her ACL for the first time while playing in a local soccer tournament when she was only 12. Like Logan and his dad, Payton and her mother Catie DiFelice wanted to explore options outside of traditional ACLR and chose the BEAR Implant for its ability to help heal Payton’s natural ACL instead of having to replace it.

“I’m a researcher at heart, and I researched everything there was to know about the BEAR Implant,” Catie recalls. “For me, reading return to sport stories from other athletes on the Comeback Community and the potential for the BEAR Implant to minimize the risk of osteoarthritis made it seem like a no brainer when weighing ACL restoration versus reconstruction.”

After Payton’s surgery, she started rehab. Since she was only 12, she didn’t know what to expect and went into it with the mindset of working as hard as she could. 

“My biggest challenge was getting back into shape after my injury and learning how to work out post-surgery,” Payton says. “Mentally, it was also really difficult to see my soccer team progress without me, and I just wanted to get back to playing.”

Payton has been playing club and travel soccer since she was 4, and her main return to sport goal was to get back to playing soccer as quickly as she could while making sure she could rely on her knee. She was cleared to return to playing soccer after nine months post-surgery.

“Playing soccer and being back with my teammates for the first time after getting cleared was so fun,” Payton says. “I felt the rehab was all worth it. The season I returned, we won first place in two of my soccer leagues, and I was even awarded MVP.”

Round Two: Making the Choice for ACL Restoration Again

Although Logan and Payton were cleared to return to baseball and soccer respectively at nine months after their initial BEAR Implant surgery, they both suffered another ACL tear in their opposite knee within their first year back to sports. According to Dr. Rhodes, it is not that common to tear the ACL on both sides, and Dr. Onyedika noted that it can be difficult to prevent contralateral knee ACL tears with the level of activity high-level athletes often play at.

“I was so frustrated when I tore my ACL on my opposite knee after I hyperextended trying to run to third base during a baseball game,” Logan remembers. “It was disappointing, but I knew that if I was going to have to go through surgery again, I wanted Dr. Rhodes to perform the surgery and I wanted the BEAR Implant again.”

This time, Logan knew what to expect in rehab, and it was smooth sailing as his range of motion and strength came back even faster than the first time around.

Payton tore her ACL for the second time on her opposite knee in an entirely different setting than the first: mid-hurdle during a track and field event.

“I was devastated after learning I tore my ACL on my other knee only six months after I recovered from my first surgery, and I cried so hard because I knew what I would have to go through again during rehab,” Payton shares. “But I knew I could do it and come back even stronger. The BEAR Implant worked so well for me the first time, so I really wanted it again and that’s the route we chose.”

“In my opinion, individuals who have received the BEAR Implant have better kinematics of the knee as well as subjective better proprioception and less pain,” Dr. Onyedika says. “Individuals like Payton who had excellent outcomes after the initial BEAR Implant are great candidates for the BEAR Implant on their contralateral knee since we know what to expect postoperatively and also have a great understanding of the postoperative protocol.”

Where are Logan and Payton Today?

Today, Logan is squatting 400 pounds, deadlifting 500 pounds and both his knees feel normal. He is currently pursuing a degree in either civil or mechanical engineering at the University of Oklahoma. Although he couldn’t play baseball his senior year of high school since he was still in recovery for his second ACL tear, he plans to play at local intramurals, play softball or get into coaching baseball in the future.

“I love the feeling of playing baseball and it isn’t something I ever want to quit,” Logan says. “I am grateful for the BEAR Implant because it allowed me to maintain the original anatomy of my knee. My dad is jealous I was able to get the BEAR Implant because it wasn’t an option 13 years ago. If it had been, he would have chosen it to treat his ACL tear too. I’m back to cutting, jumping and hitting the gym hard. Even though I tore the ACL on both my knees, my confidence level is at a 10 out of 10 because with the BEAR Implant, it’s like nothing ever happened.”

Logan shows off his batting skills after recovering from ACL tears on both knees.

Payton has had no setbacks so far in her recovery at four months post-surgery, and she is on pace to complete rehab following the BEAR Implant rehab protocol. Payton is looking forward to future showcases and travel tournaments with her soccer team once she is cleared to return to sport.

Payton in rehab at four months post-BEAR Implant surgery.

In both cases, the BEAR Implant allowed two young athletes to keep their native ACL ligament and get back to the sport they love while also preserving future surgical options. 

The BEAR Implant is available across the U.S. If you are a patient or parent considering ACL restoration, learn more about the BEAR Implant, read patient success stories or find a surgeon in your area. If you’re interested in more stories about patients who have experienced contralateral tears and chosen the BEAR Implant, check out Patrick Moner and Jomari John’s comebacks.

Learn more about the BEAR Implant

The BEAR Implant from Miach Orthopaedics was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2020. It is indicated for adults, adolescents and children with a complete or partial rupture of the ACL, as confirmed by MRI. Patients must have an ACL stump attached to the tibia to construct the repair. Children with open physes must have sufficient bone in the femoral and tibial epiphyses on either side of the intended tunnel locations to avoid disruption of the growth plates.

It is important to follow the BEAR Implant physical therapy program. Your surgeon can explain the program details.

Be sure to discuss your individual symptoms, diagnosis and treatment with your surgeon. The BEAR Implant has the same potential medical/surgical complications as other orthopedic surgical procedures, including ACL reconstruction. These include the risk of re-tear, infection, knee pain, meniscus injury and limited range of motion.

Visit www.miachortho.com for complete product information, including Instructions for Use.

ML-1315 Rev A 10/2025