Young men undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with patellar tendon autograft and anteromedial drilling outperform at 5 to10-year follow-up in terms of graft stability and activity levels compared to those undergoing reconstruction with hamstring autograft and transtibial drilling.

OBJECTIVE: To compare 5 to 10-year outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in young men performed with bone-patellar tendon bone (BPTB) autograft and anteromedial portal to reconstruction with hamstring autograft and transtibial technique. It was hypothesized that in young adult men, at 5 to 10-year follow-up, superior restoration of knee laxity and activity levels would be demonstrated using BPTB autograft and anteromedial portal technique.

METHODS: Ninety-four men who had ACL reconstruction with BPTB autograft and anteromedial portal were eligible for comparison to 106 men who had reconstruction with hamstring autograft and transtibial technique. Inclusion criteria were: (1) age 18-35 years, (2) ACL tear caused by sports trauma only, (3) no concomitant ligament reconstruction, and (4) 5 to 10-year follow-up. Outcome measures compared between the two groups included Lachman and pivot shift tests, KT side-to-side difference, Tegner and Marx scores, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC)-subjective score, Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Scale (KOOS), Short Form (SF)-36, and single hop test for distance. P value < 0.05 indicated statistical significance.

RESULTS: Forty-five patients with BPTB and 55 patients with hamstring ACL reconstruction were available for in-person assessment at 5 to 10 years after surgery. Outcomes in the BPTB group compared to the hamstring group showed KT difference 1.4±1.9-mm vs. 2.8±2.3-mm (p < 0.01), pivot shift grade 2-3 in 4% vs. 34% (p < 0.01), return to preinjury Tegner level in 51% vs. 36% (p < 0.01) and to preinjury Marx score in 29% vs. 11% (p < 0.01), and IKDC-subjective 88±10 vs. 82±13 vs. (p < 0.01), respectively. Statistically significant inter-relationships were found between KT side-to-side difference and the Tegner, Marx, and IKDC-subjective scores at follow-up (r = -0.314, p < 0.01; r = -0.263, p < 0.01; r = -0.218, p = 0.03, respectively).

CONCLUSION: Young men undergoing ACL reconstruction with patellar tendon autograft and anteromedial drilling outperform at 5 to10-year follow-up in terms of graft stability and activity levels compared to young men undergoing reconstruction with hamstring autograft and transtibial drilling.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III (Retrospective cross-sectional comparative study).