RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The cause of mucoid degeneration (MD) of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which is commonly observed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patients with knee pain, has yet to be elucidated. Despite the limited evidence on the relationship between ACL lesions (injury and MD) and tibial morphologic features (ie, posterior tibial slope), the potential association between the presence of ACL MD and medial and lateral tibial slope (MTS and LTS) has not been well-established. PURPOSE: To investigate whether MTS and LTS measurements are associated with the presence of ACL MD. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Consecutive knee MRI examinations of patients referred by an orthopaedic surgeon for potential internal joint derangements were identified within a 4-year period. The presence of ACL MD and the MTS/LTS values were assessed by independent expert observers in consensus in a blinded fashion. From 413 consecutive knee MRI scans, a sample of 80 knees, including 32 knees with ACL MD (cases) and 48 knees with normal ACL (controls), were selected using propensity score matching method for age, sex, body mass index, and presence of severe medial tibiofemoral compartment cartilage damage. The association between ACL MD and MTS/LTS was evaluated using conditional regression models. RESULTS: Knees with ACL MD had higher values of LTS (mean ± SD, 7.18° ± 3.58°) in comparison with control knees (5.32° ± 3.35°). Conditional regression analysis revealed a significant association between LTS measurements (not MTS) and ACL MD; every 1° increase in LTS was associated with a 17% (95% CI, 1%-35%) higher probability of having ACL MD. CONCLUSION: Excessive LTS was associated with the presence of ACL MD, independent of participants' age, sex, BMI, and cartilage damage severity.
RESUMO
PURPOSE: To assess failure rate, outcomes, and patient satisfaction in patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair with suture augmentation for clinical instability and proximal avulsion of the ACL. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive suture-augmented ACL repairs performed by a single surgeon between January 2014 and June 2016 for proximal ACL avulsion. Patients were included if they were at least 24 months postoperative from repair surgery. Patients were excluded from the study if they underwent primary ACL reconstruction instead of repair or if they had a concomitant multiligamentous knee injury. Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), visual analog scale (VAS), Veterans RAND-12 (VR-12), Marx Activity, and Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation data were collected. RESULTS: Of 172 patients who underwent ACL surgery between January 2014 and June 2016, 28 (16%) with Sherman type I or II ACL tears or high-grade partial avulsion with clinical instability underwent ACL repair with suture augmentation. One patient was not available for follow-up. The 27 patients were age 27.4 ± 8.6 years, 18 males (66.7%), and 2.8 ± 0.7 years follow-up (range, 2.0-3.8 years). Of these 27 patients, 4 recurrent ACL injuries (14.8%) required revision to reconstruction. The remaining 23 patients had successful ACL repair with no clinical instability and no subjective complaints at final follow-up. Final scores were KOOS 83.7 ± 12.8, Marx 8.6 ± 4.0, VAS 1.1 ± 1.8, physical VR-12 53.6 ± 5.2, mental VR-12 53.1 ± 8.1, and Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation 83.0 ± 12.9. In the 11 patients with baseline data, significant improvements were observed in composite KOOS (50.4 ± 11.5 to 85.7 ± 8.4; P < .001; VAS: 3.9 ± 2.6 to 0.8 ± 0.8; P = .002; and physical VR-12: 39.9 ± 6.5 to 55.5 ± 3.3; P < .001). All 11 patients (100%) met or exceeded the KOOS composite minimum clinically important difference (mean 34.0 increase). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with proximal ACL avulsion, arthroscopic primary ACL repair with suture augmentation demonstrated high functional outcome and improved patient-reported outcomes at 2-year follow-up. The rate of graft failure was 15%. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic case series.