title: Postoperative Knee Joint Stability Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Using the Ligament Advanced Reinforcement System.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the goals of the synthetic materials used in knee joint reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is to improve the strength and stability of the graft immediately after the reconstruction. One of the synthetic grafts is a non-absorbable synthetic ligament device made of terephthalic polyethylene polyester fibers, the Ligament Advanced Reinforcement System (LARS).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to assess postoperative knee joint stability in patients who had undergone ACL reconstruction using the LARS graft.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group was comprised of 20 males who had undergone primary unilateral intraarticular ACL reconstruction using LARS. The patients were evaluated one day before the reconstruction and an average of six weeks postoperatively. Knee stability was evaluated manually using the Lachman test, anterior drawer test and pivot-shift test. Knee active range of motion (ROM) was measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Preoperatively, the Lachman test indicated abnormal/2+ results in the vast majority of the patients. The postoperative results in most of the patients were normal/0. The anterior drawer test results were also abnormal/2+ preoperatively and normal/0 postoperatively. The pivot-shift test was positive in all of the patients before the ACL reconstruction and negative after the surgery. In general, no differences were found in the ROM between the involved and uninvolved limbs and in the between-measurement comparison.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The evaluation demonstrated significant progress from the preoperative to postoperative results in reducing anterior translation and anterolateral rotational instability of the tibia in patients who had undergone ACL reconstruction using the synthetic LARS graft. In the short-term follow-up assessments, restoration of anterior and anterolateral rotational stability of the operated knee joints was observed.
authors.affiliation: The Center of Rehabilitation and Medical Education, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krupa
authors.affiliation: The College of Physiotherapy, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Królikowska
authors.affiliation: Department and Clinic of Traumatology and Hand Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reichert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D059549:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008422:Materials Testing; D010795:Phthalic Acids; D011091:Polyesters; D020959:Polyethylene; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D010795:Phthalic Acids; D011091:Polyesters; C011363:terephthalic acid; D020959:Polyethylene
keywords: LARS; Lachman test; pivot-shift test; synthetic graft; terephthalic polyethylene polyester