title: Outcome of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with emphasis on sex-related differences.
abstract: The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the results after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using the four-strand semitendinosus-gracilis (ST/G) autograft in male (n=141) vs female (n=103) patients. The patients were operated on between 1996 and 2005, using interference screw fixation and drilling the femoral tunnel through the anteromedial portal. The pre-operative assessments and demographics, apart from age (males 29 years, females 26 years; P=0.02), were comparable at the time of surgery. At 25 (23-36) months post-operatively, no significant differences were found between the study groups in terms of anterior side-to-side knee laxity, manual Lachman test, Tegner activity level, Lysholm knee score, range of motion or donor-site morbidity. Both study groups improved significantly in most clinical assessments and functional scores compared with their pre-operative values. Two years after ACL reconstruction using ST/G autografts, there were no significant differences between male and female patients in terms of clinical outcome or functional scores.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Sweden. mattias.e.ahlden@vgregion.se
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahldén
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sernert
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kartus
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D059549:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013548:Sweden; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult