title: LARS Artificial Ligament Versus ABC Purely Polyester Ligament for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Graft choice for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is of critical importance. Various grafts have been used so far, with autografts long considered the optimal solution for the treatment of ACL-deficient knees. Limited data are available on the long-term survivorship of synthetic grafts.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the functional outcome and survivorship of ACL reconstructions performed using the LARS (ligament augmentation and reconstruction system) ligament and the ABC (active biosynthetic composite) purely polyester ligament.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
  
  
  METHODS
  The results of 72 patients who underwent primary arthroscopic ACL reconstruction with the LARS ligament and 31 cases with an ABC purely polyester ligament were reviewed. The mean follow-up periods for the LARS and ABC groups were 9.5 and 5.1 years, respectively. A survivorship analysis of the 2 synthetic grafts was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with a log-rank test (Mantel-Cox, 95% CI). Lysholm, Tegner activity, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores as well as laxity measurements obtained using a KT-1000 arthrometer were recorded for all intact grafts, and a Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison reasons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rupture rates for LARS and ABC grafts were 31% (95% CI, 20%-42%) and 42% (95% CI, 25%-59%), respectively. For intact grafts, the mean Lysholm score was good for both groups (90 for the LARS group and 89 for the ABC group), with the majority of patients returning to their preinjury level of activities, and the mean IKDC score was 90 for the LARS group and 86 for the ABC group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rupture rates of both LARS and ABC grafts were both high. However, the LARS ligament provided significantly better survivorship compared with the ABC ligament at short- to midterm follow-up (95% CI).
authors.affiliation: Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios Ph
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Iliadis
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Department, 251 HAF and VA Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Bourlos
authors.affiliation: First Orthopaedical Department, Athens University Medical School, General University Hospital "ATTIKON," Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Mastrokalos
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Konstantopoulio Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Efstathios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chronopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Konstantopoulio Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: George C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Babis
keywords: ABC purely polyester ligament; ACL rupture rate; LARS ligament; anterior cruciate ligament