The effect of added extra-articular procedure on results of ACL reconstruction

To determine the efficacy of added extraarticular backup procedure to an intra-articular ligament reconstruction, 70 patients who underwent surgery between July 1988 and May 1991 were reviewed retrospectively. Each patient had undergone either an intra-articular patellar tendon autograft anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction alone or with added extra-articular augmentation. Patients were excluded if they had a history of knee problems, if they had ACL surgeries on either knee, or if they became unavailable for followup for an adequate period of time. Thirty-two patients underwent ACL reconstruction with an extra-articular augmentation added (group 1), and 38 patients underwent intra-articular reconstruction alone (group 2). Objective testing consisted of a clinical examination, radiographs, instrumented knee laxity, and subjective evaluation using visual analog scales. There were no statistically significant differences in the clinical or subjective findings between the two groups.