title: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with the press-fit technique. 2-5 years followed-up of 42 patients.
abstract: 42 patients underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with the press-fit technique. The ACL was reconstructed with a bone-tendon-bone graft from the medial third of the patellar tendon. The graft was stabilized without screws in the femur and tibia by press-fit. To imitate the anatomical functioning of the ACL, the femoral bone block was placed with the tendon close to the over-the-top position. The tibial block was then placed in a trough on the tibia, so that the ligament fibres were parallel and tight during extension and slightly inverted during flexion. At evaluation mean 41 (25-61) months postoperatively, the mean Lysholm score was 93 (80-100) points, the mean activity level was 6 (3-10) points, and the mean translation of the tibia head, measured by the KT-1000 arthrometer (side-to-side difference), was 2 (0-7) mm. Only 3 of the patients suffered loss of extension (5 degrees). Patients who underwent reconstruction at least 4 months after the injury had better results than those who were operated earlier. The press-fit method allowed for anatomic substitution of the ACL with a stable graft without the disadvantages associated with screws. This method gave early postoperative functioning of the knee and good mid-term results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Ioannina Medical School, Greece.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Georgoulis
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Papageorgiou
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Makris
authors.forename: U G
authors.initials: UG
authors.lastname: Moebius
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Soucacos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000379:methods; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D012421:Rupture; D013710:Tendons / Q000637:transplantation