One-Year Clinical Outcomes Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Augmented with a Reinforced...

The purpose of this study was to examine the risk of early clinical outcomes in ACL reconstructions augmented with a reinforced bio-inductive implant (RBI).

A retrospective chart review of a single orthopedic sports medicine surgeon was performed identifying patients who underwent primary or revision ACL reconstruction (ACLR) augmented with an RBI between January 2021 and January 2024. Inclusion criteria included: age over 14, minimum one-year follow up, and range of motion, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores at preop, three months, six months, and 12 months postoperative. Excluded patients were primary ACL repair and failure to meet the above criteria. Patients were identified for medical comorbidities and outcomes related to the need for reoperation and/or identification of graft tears.

Seventy-one patients met the inclusion criteria with mean follow up of 12.2 months (min. 11, max. 23, median 12). Patient demographics revealed an average age of 29 years (min. 14, max. 62, median 28). Of the 71 patients, 37 (52.1%) were male. All 71 patients had their ACLR performed arthroscopically, and 61/71 patients underwent primary ACL reconstruction (85.9%). VAS pain scores at three, six, and 12 months compared to pre-surgical scores revealed statistically significant decreases at all timepoints (Δ-3.4, Δ-3.8, Δ-3.8, respectively, p <0.001). IKDC scores at three, six, and 12 months compared to pre-surgical scores met the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and were found to have statistically significant improvements at all timepoints (Δ25.9, Δ42.8, Δ49.7, respectively, p <0.001). Knee ROM in flexion and extension demonstrated statistically significant improvements at all timepoints post surgery compared to baseline (p <0.001). The overall rate of reoperation was 4.2% (3/71). Reasons for reoperation included one case of arthrofibrosis (1.4%), one subsequent meniscus tear (1.4%), and one graft retear (1.4%).

The addition of an RBI to ACLR demonstrated favorable outcomes in terms of range of motion, pain, and functional outcome scores with a low rate of clinical retear at a minimum of one-year follow up.