Influence of Surgeon Experience and Clinic Volume on Subjective Knee Function and Revision Rates in Primary ACL Reconstruction: A Study from the Swedish National Knee Ligament Registry.

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) performed by high-volume surgeons/clinics has been associated with increased graft individualization and decreased operating times, complication rates, and total costs. Purpose: To investigate the influence of surgeon/clinic volume on subjective knee function and revision surgery rates at 2 years after primary ACLR. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Data from the Swedish National Knee Ligament Registry were used to study patients who underwent primary ACLR between 2008 and 2019. Surgeons/clinics were categorized based on a combination of total caseload volume (cutoff: 50 ACLRs/surgeon, 500 ACLRs/clinic) and annual volume (cutoff: 29 ACLRs/year/surgeon, 56 ACLRs/year/clinic). The thresholds of minimal important change (MIC), Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS), and treatment failure (TF) relative to the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and KOOS4 (mean score of the KOOS Pain, Symptoms, Sports/Rec, and QoL subscales) were applied. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess variables influencing the MIC, PASS, or TF of the KOOS and KOOS4. Adjusted Cox regression analysis was conducted to determine the hazard ratio of subsequent ACLR. Results: Of 35,371 patients, 16,317 had 2-year follow-up outcome data and were included. Patients who underwent primary ACLR by high-volume surgeons had significantly higher MIC and PASS rates and lower TF rates when compared with patients who underwent the procedure by low-volume surgeons: MICKOOS4: 70.6% vs 66.3%; PASSKOOS4: 46.0% versus 38.3%; and TFKOOS4: 8.7% versus 11.8% (all P < .02). Significantly decreased odds of achieving MICKOOS4 (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.62-0.88) and PASSKOOS4 (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.60-0.84) were found for ACLRs performed by low-volume surgeons. Clinic volume did not influence the odds of reaching MIC, PASS, or TF. Overall, 804 patients (2.3%) underwent subsequent ACLR at <2 years, with significantly higher revision rates among patients operated on at high-volume clinics (2.5% vs 1.7%; P < .001). However, in the adjusted Cox regression, surgeon/clinic volume had no influence on subsequent ACLR rates. High-volume surgeons/clinics had decreased time to surgery, operating time, perioperative complication rates, and use of thromboprophylaxis and nonroutine antibiotics (P < .001). Conclusion: Patients who underwent primary ACLR by high-volume surgeons experienced increased improvement and satisfaction regarding subjective knee function. Factors other than surgical volume influenced subsequent surgery rates. Patients might benefit from undergoing primary ACLR by high-volume providers.

Surgeon's experience, sports participation and a concomitant MCL injury increase the use of patellar and quadriceps tendon grafts in primary ACL reconstruction: a nationwide registry study of 39,964 surgeries.

PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of surgeon-related factors and clinic routines on autograft choice in primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). METHODS: Data from the Swedish National Knee Ligament Registry (SNKLR), 2008-2019, were used to study autograft choice (hamstring; HT, patellar; PT, or quadriceps tendon; QT) in primary ACLR. Patient/injury characteristics (sex, age at surgery, activity at time of injury and associated injuries) and surgeon-/clinic-related factors (operating volume, caseload and graft type use) were analyzed. Surgeon/clinic volume was divided into tertiles (low-, mid- and high-volume categories). Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess variables influencing autograft choice in 2015-2019, presented as the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: 39,964 primary ACLRs performed by 299 knee surgeons in 91 clinics were included. Most patients received HT (93.7%), followed by PT (4.2%) and QT (2.1%) grafts. Patients were mostly operated on by high-volume (> 28 ACLRs/year) surgeons (68.1%), surgeons with a caseload of ≥ 50 ACLRs (85.1%) and surgeons with the ability to use ≥ two autograft types (85.9%) (all p < 0.001). Most patients underwent ACLR at high-volume (> 55 ACLRs/year) clinics (72.2%) and at clinics capable of using ≥ two autograft types (93.1%) (both p < 0.001). Significantly increased odds of receiving PT/QT autografts were found for ACLR by surgeons with a caseload of ≥ 50 ACLRs (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.11-1.79), but also for injury during handball (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.02-1.67), various other pivoting sports (basketball, hockey, rugby and American football) (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.24-2.03) and a concomitant medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury (OR 4.93, 95% CI 4.18-5.80). In contrast, female sex (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77-0.97), injury during floorball (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.55-0.91) and ACLR by mid-volume relative to high-volume surgeons (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.53-0.73) had significantly reduced odds of receiving PT/QT autografts. CONCLUSION: An HT autograft was used in the vast majority of cases, but PT/QT autografts were used more frequently by experienced surgeons. Prior research has demonstrated significant differences in autograft characteristics. For this reason, patients might benefit if surgery is performed by more experienced surgeons. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Compensation claims following anterior cruciate ligament injuries reported to the patient insurance company in Sweden in 2005-2014.

Background and purpose - Patients in the Swedish healthcare system are insured against avoidable adverse events via Landstingens Ömsesidiga Försäkringsbolag (LÖF). We assessed the reasons for compensation claims reported to LÖF following an ACL injury. Patients and methods - We searched the LÖF database for compensation claims related to ACL injuries reported in 2005-2014, and cross-matched claims with the Swedish National Knee Ligament Register. We then performed a review of the medical records. Results - We identified 530 eligible claims in 2005-2014. 352 (66%) claims were accepted by LÖF and 178 claims were rejected. Accepted claims corresponded to fewer than 1% of ACL surgeries performed in the same period. The most common reasons for an accepted claim were postoperative septic arthritis followed by suboptimal surgery and delay in diagnosis and treatment. Interpretation - There are different reasons for accepting a compensation claim following an ACL injury, which represents different treatment errors that can be avoided.