Good to Excellent Functional Short-Term Outcome and Low Revision Rates Following Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair Using Suture Augmentation

• Published in: Journal of clinical medicine 2020-09, Vol.9 (10), p.3068
• Main Authors: Schneider, Kristian Nikolaus, Schliemann, Benedikt, Gosheger, Georg, Theil, Christoph, Weller, Jan, Buddhdev, Pranai K, Ahlbäumer, Georg
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical medicine; Injuries; Knee; Ligaments; Patients; Statistical analysis; Surgery; Surgical techniques
• ISSN: 2077-0383; 2077-0383
• DOI: 10.3390/jcm9103068

The aim of this study was to evaluate the functional outcome of primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair using suture augmentation (SA) in 93 consecutive patients (67 female) with a minimum follow-up of 12 months. Patients’ outcomes were determined using International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, Lysholm score (LS) and Tegner score (TS). Knee-laxity was assessed using the KT-1000 arthrometer. Eighty-eight patients (67 female, mean age 42 years ± standard deviation (SD) 13) were available for follow-up after a mean time of 21 months (range 12–39). Three patients (3%) underwent revision surgery and were excluded from functional analysis. The mean IKDC score was 87.4 ± 11, mean LS was 92.6 ± 11, mean pre-traumatic TS was 6 ± 2 and mean postoperative TS was 6 ± 2, with a mean difference (TSDiff) of 1 ± 1. The interval from injury to surgery had no significant impact on the postoperative IKDC (p = 0.228), LS (p = 0.377) and TSDiff (p = 0.572). Patients’ age (>40 years), BMI (>30) and coexisting ligament or meniscal injuries did not seem to influence postoperative functional results. Primary ACL repair using SA provides good to excellent functional outcomes with a low probability of revision surgery at a minimum of 12 months.