Abstract
Purpose: To report the 2–5 year results of ACL reconstruction with doubled Tibialis anterior allograft.
Method: Seventy-three patients who underwent primary ACL reconstruction with doubled tibialis anterior allografts with minimum 2 year follow-up were included in the study. Patients were assessed via telephone interview using the Lysholm knee score, Tegner activity score, and the subjective International Knee Documentation Committee rating. In addition, they were asked if they had failure of the ACL requiring revision or any other procedures such as repeat arthroscopy for meniscal surgery/articular cartilage. Statistical analysis using levene’s test and the T-test was used to assess outcomes of patients according to age and sex.
Results: Sixty-four (88%) patients were available for follow-up. The mean age was 28.94 years (16–55). There were 33 males (51.6%) and 31 females (48.4%). The mean follow-up was 41.6 months (range 24–55 months). There were 2 (3%) complications, 1 patient suffered a DVT with subsequent PE, and 1 patient suffered a hardware problem. Four patients (6.3%) had failure of their graft and 6 patients (9%) required repeat arthroscopy. The mean Lysholm score was 91.75 (SD+/− 8.2), and the mean Tegner activity score was 5.4 (range 1–10). The mean IDKC was 88.94 (SD+/− 8.33). According to the IDKC score 58% of patients were rated as excellent, 27% as good, and 13% as fair and 2% as poor. There was no difference in outcome in patients under 30 compared to over 30 years. Males performed statistically better on the Lysholm and the IKDC scores (p 0.005 and 0.038 respectively) when compared to women.
Conclusion: ACL reconstruction with Allograft Tibialis anterior tendon provided good functional results with a low failure rate at 2–5 years. There was no statistical difference in outcome between Patients under 30 years and those above 30 years. Males performed better on the Lysholm and the IDKC questionnaires.
Correspondence should be addressed to CEO Doug C. Thomson. Email: doug@canorth.org
