Effect of drain use in the early postoperative period after arthroscopically assisted anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with bone-patellar tendon-bone graft.
BACKGROUND
Little data exist on the effect of routine use of postoperative drainage after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, although clinical studies of other procedures have not shown benefit to this practice.


OBJECTIVE
Use of a postoperative drain will not result in decreased suprapatellar girth, increased range of motion, and decreased pain compared with nonuse.


METHODS
Prospective randomized clinical trial.


METHODS
Twenty-one patients undergoing arthroscopically assisted bone-patellar tendon-bone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction were randomly assigned to receive a drain for 24 hours (12 patients) or no drain (9 patients). Data for comparison of groups were collected daily through postoperative day 7.


RESULTS
Pain scores on a visual analog scale demonstrated the same improving trend over time for both treatment and control groups; however, the treatment group had significantly higher average pain scores, except on day 7. Differences in suprapatellar girth, flexion, and extension were not found to be statistically significant between groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Use of a drain after arthroscopically assisted anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction provided no benefit in terms of range of motion, effusion, or pain in the early postoperative period.
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC. 20307, USA.
Aman
A
Dhawan
William C
WC
Doukas
Janet A
JA
Papazis
Charles R
CR
Scoville
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001182:Arthroscopy; D004322:Drainage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017847:Patellar Ligament / Q000637:transplantation*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome