Multiligament knee injuries treated by one-stage reconstruction using allograft: Postoperative laxity assessment using stress radiography and clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment of multiligament knee injuries (MLKIs) leads to better outcomes but there are controversies about optimal surgical strategies. Debates remain about timing of surgery: acute, staged or delayed and about graft choice: autograft, allograft or a combination of both. Therefore, we performed a retrospective study aiming to evaluate postoperative laxity using stress radiographs and clinical outcomes after one-stage reconstructions of injured ligaments using non-irradiated, fresh-frozen allografts. HYPOTHESIS: MLKIs treated by one-stage reconstructions using non-irradiated, fresh-frozen allograft may lead to satisfactorily postoperative laxity and clinical outcomes. METHODS: Between November 2013 and July 2015, 23 patients with MLKIs underwent one-stage reconstruction using allograft. Knee injuries were defined according Schenk classification of Knee Dislocation (KD). Patients were evaluated using the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), the Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, and the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation Form at a minimum follow-up of 24 months. Postoperative anterior, posterior, varus, and valgus laxities were assessed using stress radiographs and expressed as side-to-side differences (SSD) in millimeters. RESULTS: Three of 23 patients were lost to follow-up. There were 6 KD-I, 12 KD-III, and 2 KD-IV lesions, 12 lateral-side and 10 medial-side lesions, and 13 acute and 7 chronic cases. Three patients had associated neurovascular injuries. Mean follow-up was at 29.4±6.1 months. Mean valgus SSD was 0.2mm±1.4mm (range, -2.1-2.2mm), mean varus SSD was 1.4mm±2.5mm (range, -1.7-6.0mm), mean posterior SSD was 7.2mm±3.9mm (range, 1.2-16.0mm), mean anterior SSD was 3.6mm±5.1mm (range, -4.8-16.8mm). Overall IKDC ratings were: 4 grade A, 3B, 7C, and 6D. Three patients complained of postoperative instability, with an IKDC rating of D. The mean subjective IKDC score was 67.2±19.6, the mean Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale was 77.3±16.5, and the mean KOOS results were 78.5±16.6 for pain, 67.7±17.4 for symptoms, 86.5±14.2 for daily activities, 56±25.4 for sports, and 47.2±28.6 for quality of life. Nineteen of 20 patients returned to sport-6 to the same level. One patient underwent an arthroscopic arthrolysis due to postoperative arthrofibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Using non-irradiated allografts for one-stage reconstructions of all the injured ligaments in MLKIs is effective and safe. Anteroposterior stability was difficult to restore, but patients returned to their daily activities and sometimes to their sports activity at the same preinjury level. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, case series.

Complications After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction and Their Relation to the Type of Graft: A Prospective Study of 958 Cases.

BACKGROUND: Complications and adverse events after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction are well known, but they have been underestimated in previous studies. PURPOSE: To describe the complications and adverse events after ACL reconstruction within a 2-year follow-up and analyze them in relation to the type of graft. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: From 2000 to 2012, 958 patients with an isolated ACL injury underwent surgery by a single knee surgeon. ACL reconstruction was performed with the medial portal technique for the femoral tunnel and the use of bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) or hamstring tendon graft. Patients were reviewed at 6 weeks and 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery with the International Knee Documentation Committee score, plain radiographs, and the KT-1000 arthrometer. RESULTS: Of 958 patients enrolled, 147 (15%) were lost at last follow-up. The 2 groups (bone-patellar tendon-bone [n = 257] and hamstring [n = 554]) were similar regarding the mean age at the time of surgery and preoperative anterior laxity. The main complications were as follows: anterior knee pain (n = 130 of 811, 16%), stiffness (n = 72, 8.8%), secondary meniscal lesions (n = 59, 7.2%), pain attributed to fixation (n = 79, 9.7%), ACL rerupture (n = 47, 5.7%), contralateral ACL ruptures (n = 24, 3%), patellar fractures (n = 3, 0.3%), infections (n = 9, 1%), and thromboembolic complications (n = 5, 0.6%). There was no significant difference between the grafts with respect to the frequency of joint stiffness, secondary meniscal lesions, or anterior knee pain. During the first 2 postoperative years, the percentage of patients with anterior knee pain was higher in the patellar tendon group (23.3% vs 12.6%, P < .001); however, this difference was not significant after the 2-year interval (3.1% vs 2.5%, P = .63). The percentage of patients with a rerupture of the graft was significantly lower in the patellar tendon group than in the hamstring group (25 of 811 [3.1%] vs 57 of 811 [7%], P = .023). Similar results were recorded regarding the pain related to the hardware material (7 of 811 [0.8%] in the BPTB group vs 113 of 811 [13.9%] in the hamstring group, P = .001). The percentage of ACL ruptures contralateral to the repair was higher in the patellar tendon group (41 of 811 [5%] vs 17 of 811 [2%], P = .016). CONCLUSION: The total rate of complications after an ACL reconstruction was 39%, and the surgical revision rate for any reason was 28%. Problems with the hardware material were more frequent in the hamstring group, leading to an increased rate of surgical revision. Anterior knee pain was initially higher in the patellar tendon group, but there was no significant difference in a 2-year interval. The rerupture rate was statistically higher in the hamstring group.