Preservation of anterior cruciate ligament in total knee arthroplasty

Few prostheses allow preservation of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) d uring total knee replacement. We report a short-term, prospective, open stu dy of 32 ACL-retaining and 93 ACL-replacing total knee replacements and com pare the respective outcomes of both prosthesis types with a follow-up time of 2-3 years. Mean operative time, complication or revision rates did not differ, nor did the early and late clinical and radiological evaluations. T his study does not support the suggestion that technical difficulties incre ase for ACL preservation. The clinical and functional results were neither improved nor worsened for ACL-retaining prostheses. There is thus no advant age, but also no inconvenience, in retaining the ACL according to short- to mid-term results of a gliding posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)-retaining prosthesis with ACL-replacement design. The possibility of an improved long -term outcome of an ACL-retaining prosthesis should be investigated further .