[Short-term effectiveness of arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with RetroButton-allogeneic...

To investigate the method and short-term effectiveness of arthroscopic reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) using RetroButton-allogeneic tendon-interference screw.

Between June 2009 and October 2009, 23 patients with ACL rupture were treated by arthroscopic reconstruction with RetroButton-allogeneic tendon-interference screw. There were 15 males and 8 females with an average age of 32.5 years (range, 19-46 years), including 17 left knees and 6 right knees. The injury causes were sport trauma (13 cases), traffic accident (8 cases), and falling injury (2 cases). There were 7 acute cases (< 6 weeks) and 16 chronic cases (> 6 weeks). Among the cases, 11 cases complicated by medial meniscus injury, 6 by lateral meniscus injury, 3 by the both injuries, and 5 by articular cartilage injury. All cases had no injuries of posterior cruciate ligament, medial or lateral collateral ligament, or posterolateral structure. The time from injury to operation ranged from 3 weeks to 32 months. Lysholm and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores were used for subjective evaluation, while Lachman test and KT-1000 measurement for objective evaluation.

All wounds healed by first intention. The symptoms of unstable knee were improved obviously. No high fever, infection, or immunologic rejection were observed. Refractoriness synovitis and joint effusion occurred in 1 case after operation, and was improved after articular cavity flushing for 7 times within 3 weeks. All cases were followed up 10-17 months (mean, 14.7 months). There were significant differences in Lysholm score, IKDC score, Lachman test, and KT-1000 measurement between pre-operation and last follow-up (P < 0.05).

Arthroscopic reconstruction of ACL with RetroButton-allogeneic tendon-interference screw is simple and safe, and its short-term effectiveness is satisfactory.