[Intra-articular reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament with and without extra-articular supplementation by quadricipital tendon plasty: seven-year follow-up].
OBJECTIVE
Reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a common procedure, but use of lateral reinforcement is still a subject of debate. The purpose of this study was to compare two randomized series of ACL reconstructions, one using an intra-articular method (patellar tendon autograft) and the other an intra- and extra-articular method (Mac-InJones).


METHODS
From January 1995 to March 1998, 63 knees underwent surgery for ACL reconstruction. Inclusion criteria was significant medial differential laxity measured between 7 and 12 mm on passive dynamic x-rays as 20 degrees flexion. Group 1 (patellar tendon intra-articular reconstruction) included 34 patients (27.1+/-7.5 years) and group 2 (intra-articular reconstruction plus extra-articular quadircipital tendon plasty) included 29 patients (28.5+/-12 years). The IKDC score was determined for 72% of the knees in group 1 and 68% in group 2 at seven years follow-up on average (102 and 93 months respectively). Anterior laxity was measured radiographically and with KT-1000. The position of the tunnels was controlled using the Aglietti method.


RESULTS
The subjective functional score was 83.6+/-3.5 in group 1 and 83.5+/-3.5 in group 2. The overall IKDC knee score classes for group 1 were 0% A, 52.4% B, 28.6% C, and 19% D and for group 2 were 5.5% group A, 50% group B, 33.3% group C, and 11.1% group D. In group 1, the pivot test was negative in 61.9% and noted stage 1 in 28.6% and stage 2 in 9.5%. In group 2, the pivot test was negative in 78.9% and noted stage 1 in 15.8% and stage 2 in 5.3%. The KT-1000 showed no difference in gain in laxity: 31% for group 1 and 27% for group 2. Similarly, radiographically there was no difference with a 43.9% gain in differential laxity for the medial compartment and 45.3% for the lateral compartment in group 1. In group 2 the corresponding values were 51.9% and 41.8%. The position of the tunnels was the same in the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
In a preliminary study with two years follow-up, the results in these two series were not significantly different. It was concluded that there was not clear advantage to adding the extra-articular lateral plasty. At the present 7-year follow-up, pivoting appears to be better controlled in the lateral plasty group (p=0.23), but with no significant difference for laxity for both knee compartments. The inclusion criteria would be different today and would be based on the laxity of the lateral compartment.
Giraud
B
B
Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique et de Médecine du Sport, Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, 69495 Pierre-Bénite.
Besse
J-L
JL
Cladière
F
F
Ecochard
R
R
Moyen
B
B
Lerat
J-L
JL
D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods; D017847:Patellar Ligament / Q000637:transplantation*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors