Patient Stories

As a sixth-year student athlete and graduate student, Andrew Ciufo has spent his life as a high achiever – graduating from Georgetown University and then enrolling at Clemson University as a graduate student, where he was elected captain of the baseball team.

“Baseball has been a big part of my life,” Andrew said. “It’s gotten me into great schools, taught me discipline, and connected me with teammates and friends.”

But, after winning 28-3 start to the season at shortstop during his first year at Clemson, a serious injury threatened to end his baseball career early.

“I was wearing metal spikes on turf during a game. In the ninth inning, a ball kicked to my right, and I planted with my right leg and those spikes just stuck in the ground,” Andrew said. “My knee hyperextended too far. I knew I was injured, but I still picked up the ball and threw it.”

Andrew actually pushed through and played the rest of the game, but later an MRI showed that he had torn the ACL and lateral meniscus in his right leg.

“Our head coach called and said he had some bad news,” Andrew said. “My heart sank when he said my ACL was torn. I called my roommate and just broke down. I felt completely hopeless and like it was the end of my baseball career.”

Both his brother, Rich, who also played shortstop in college, and his dad had suffered ACL tears previously. So, Andrew got on a plane and flew home to Long Island, New York to see the surgeon who had successfully treated their injuries, James M. Paci, MD (Woodbury, NY).

“I’ve built my practice around the care of athletes,” Dr. Paci said. “I trained at Andrews Sports Medicine and Dr. [James] Andrews taught us the way – develop a protocol that works and do it the same way every time to limit the variables.”

Dr. Paci reconstructed Andrew’s ACL using his own patellar tendon, an Arthrex TightRope® II implant and a FastThread^™ interference screw to affix the autograft tendon back to the bone. Additionally, he used the FiberStitch™ implant for an all-inside meniscus repair. He then performed an anterolateral ligament repair using a Double Knotless Knee FiberTak® anchor, retentioning the ligament, instead of using a graft or disrupting Andrew’s IT band.

“My personal bias is that we need to be doing these kinds of lateral augmentation procedures in athletes,” Dr. Paci said. “We want the ligament to heal back to the bone and then we can move them into my accelerated rehab protocol. In general, with an ACL reconstruction I quote six to nine and up to 12 months to return to play. With a patellar graft, I try to get athletes back within six to nine months.”

Andrew had surgery in April 2024 and was back practicing with his team by the fall, and he played every game of the 2025 season, which started 10 months after his surgery.

“I was surprised and happy with how relatively quickly I came back and was able to play shortstop at a D-1 level again,” Andrew said. “I feel great. I can plant my foot and pivot again; I feel confident to move and stop quickly.”

Dr. Paci says he wasn’t surprised to see Andrew back playing at the highest level in baseball.

“With the technology we have from Arthrex that limits the variables, we can push these athletes faster,” he said. “But we have to have their buy-in to the rehab. Andrew showed an incredible amount of dedication and fortitude.”

Today, at nearly 25 years old, Andrew says he is ready to leave his baseball career behind him, but he’s grateful for it all, and for the surgery that has set him up for a successful future.

“Baseball has done so much for me, but I’m ready for what’s next,” Andrew said. “And I know I can be active and live my life without worrying about the stability of my knee.”

Visit ACLTear.com to learn more about Arthrex ACL solutions.

Disclaimers: This is not medical advice and is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by a surgeon or other qualified medical professional on the use of these products. You should talk with your physician or health care provider for more information about your health condition and whether Arthrex products might be appropriate for you. The surgeon who performs any surgical procedure is responsible for determining and using the appropriate techniques for surgical procedures on each individual patient. Arthrex recommends that surgeons be trained on the use of any particular product before using it in surgery. A surgeon must always rely on their own professional medical judgment when deciding whether to use a particular product when treating a particular patient. A surgeon must always refer to the package insert, product label, and/or directions for use before using any Arthrex product. Postoperative management is patient-specific and dependent on the treating professional’s assessment. Individual results will vary and not all patients will experience the same postoperative activity level or outcomes. Products may not be available in all markets because product availability is subject to the regulatory approvals and medical practices in individual markets. Please contact Arthrex if you have questions about the availability of products in your area.

This real patient was compensated for the time he took to share his experience.

Physician is a paid consultant of Arthrex, Inc.