Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using quadriceps patellar tendon graft

Abstract

Eighty-three patients, from a 10 year follow-up study, who underwent ACL reconstruction with a quadriceps patellar tendon graft were reviewed. A questionnaire qualifying their sports performance in 20 possible sports compared their preinjury status to postinjury and postreconstructive surgery. Successful and unsuccess ful patients, as determined by our previous investiga tion, were likewise compared. Sports performance, regardless of the sport or level of competition, decreased substantially postinjury and then rose significantly to near but not equal to patient preinjury status. The most strenuous sports dipped to the lowest performance level after injury and returned with a correspondingly more modest gain after the reconstruction. Not surprisingly, successful patients had a more impressive return in performance than unsuccessful patients, mirroring their clinical grading. Of those deemed unsatisfactory (N = 20), graft failures were no worse off in performance rating than those that were classified as unsatisfactory because of per sistent symptoms.