Vijayamohan S1, Bhaskar Subin Sugath2
BACKGROUND
Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury has become more common and the demand by the patients to return to pre-injury level of activity has made reconstruction of the ligament very crucial. Though there are various techniques in reconstructing the anterior cruciate ligament, in this study, we compare two most commonly used techniques to see whether there is any significant difference in the outcome.
METHODS
Study included 25 patients in the age group of 19-36 years, of which 23 were males. The patients were divided randomly into 2 groups, and 15 patients underwent Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction using Bone Patellar Tendon Bone Graft and 10 patients had Hamstring graft.
RESULTS
Patients were followed up at regular intervals monthly for the first six months and then at three monthly intervals. Patients were assessed using Knee Scoring Scale of Lysholm and Gillquist and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scoring system. In addition, activity level, harvest site pain, thigh atrophy, kneeling pain and hamstring pain were assessed. All patients were followed up for a minimum period of 2 years. 20% of both groups were able to return to strenuous activity level, and 67% of Patellar tendon group and 50% of the Hamstring tendon group were able to return to moderate level of activity. 55% of patients in the patellar tendon group and 20% of patients in the hamstring tendon group had donor site pain in the first 6 months. 73% of patients in the hamstring group had at least 10 mm of thigh wasting. Pain on kneeling was seen only in the patellar tendon group (35%) while hamstring pain was found only in the hamstring group (20%).
CONCLUSIONS
Patients in the patellar tendon group had increased anterior stability and were able to return to strenuous occupation. The difference in thigh atrophy between the two groups was not significant. The hamstring group had lower graft harvest site morbidity. Lachman test was the single most accurate test in diagnosing Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries.
