title: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using the medial third of the patellar tendon.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the mid-term outcome of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using the medial third of the patellar tendon as the bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) graft.
  
  
  METHODS
  79 men (34 right knees and 45 left knees) aged 20 to 52 (mean, 28) years underwent ACL reconstruction using the medial third of the patellar tendon with bone plugs and were followed up for a minimum of 3 years. Stability was assessed using the Lachman test and the pivot shift test. The range of motion, donor-site symptoms, Lysholm knee score, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score were also recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In terms of stability, only 4 patients had a grade-2 laxity postoperatively, compared to all having a grade-2 or -3 laxity preoperatively. Regarding the range of motion, extension loss was <3º in 76 patients and 3º to 5º in 3, whereas flexion loss was <5º in 73 patients, 5º to 15º in 5, and 16º to 25º in one. No patient had patellar tendon rupture/shortening, patellar fracture, or patellar maltracking. The mean Lysholm knee score improved from 48 to 92 (p<0.0001); scores were excellent (>90) in 46 patients and good (83-90) in 32 patients. The overall IKDC score was grade A (normal) in 9 patients, grade B (near normal) in 66, and grade C (abnormal) in 4. Three of the latter patients had osteoarthritic changes and pain on minimal physical activity. Only one patient had a sensation of partial giving way during moderate physical activity. 20% of the patients had anterior knee pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Outcome of ACL reconstruction using the medial third of the patellar tendon was comparable to that using the central third of the patellar tendon. In addition, there were no instances of patellar tendon rupture/shortening, patellar fracture, or patellar maltracking.
authors.affiliation: Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, India. kanniraj_208@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: Kanniraj
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marimuthu
authors.forename: Narendra
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.forename: Mrinal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Chandra Sekar
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhargava
authors.forename: Ajay Singh
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Rajawat
authors.forename: Sushil Subash
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Rangdal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D050376:Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Grafting; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods; D013718:Tensile Strength; D016896:Treatment Outcome