A. Harilainen et al., PROSPECTIVE PREOPERATIVE EVALUATION OF ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT INSTABILITY OF THE KNEE-JOINT AND RESULTS OF RECONSTRUCTION WITH PATELLARLIGAMENT, Clinical orthopaedics and related research, (297), 1993, pp. 17-22
Of 54 patients with chronic (n = 49) or acute (n = 5) anterior cruciat
e ligament instability, 52 were evaluated after mean.16 months' follow
-up interval after open (n = 18) or arthroscopic assisted (n = 36) bon
e-tendon-bone patellar ligament reconstruction. Preoperative Knee Sign
ature System side-to-side difference in anterior displacement decrease
d from 7.9 mm to 3.5 mm at follow-up evaluation (p < 0.0001). An objec
tively satisfactory limit of 5 mm in side-to-side difference was achie
ved in 73% of the patients. At follow-up evaluation, there was a posit
ive pivot shift sign in eight knees (one definite and seven trace). Av
erage Lysholm knee scores improved from 69 to 83. The only significant
difference between the arthroscopic assisted and open groups was smal
ler side-to-side anterior displacement difference in the arthroscopic
group (2.2 mm versus 4.8 mm, p = 0.002). Results suggest that more acc
urate and isometric placement of the graft is possible with the arthro
scopic-assisted technique.