Bone-patellar tendon-bone reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. A long-term comparison of early and late repair.
Ninety-one patients were assessed 5-9 years after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (bone patella-tendon bone autograft). Forty-eight patients had been treated within 6 weeks of the injury (Group I) and 43 patients more than 3 months after the injury (Group II). 73 patients had either a normal or nearly normal final outcome. The mean Lysholm score was 82 and the mean Marshall score was 42. Eighty nine patients had normal or nearly normal stability in the operated knee when compared to the contralateral joint. In none of these results was there any significant difference between the groups. Results of functional and of isokinetic strength tests, as well as the presence of anterior knee pain, were also similar in both groups. However, patients with early reconstruction had fewer degenerative changes in the tibio-femoral joint and were more satisfied with the result. They also returned to their pre-injury level of sports activity more often than those patients in the late reconstruction group.
Järvelä
T
T
Division of Orthopaedics, Department of Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, PO Box 2000, FIN 33521 Tampere, Finland.
Nyyssönen
M
M
Kannus
P
P
Paakkala
T
T
Järvinen
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D016025:Bone Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures; D010329:Patella / Q000601:surgery*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013710:Tendons / Q000637:transplantation*; D013997:Time Factors; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome