Functional Outcome of Transphyseal Reconstruction of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in Skeletally Immature Patients

conservative or surgical treatment is better for ACL tears in skeletally immature patients with growth potential. Recently, surgical intervention is recommended to avoid the complications of conservative treatment, which include additional meniscal tears or early onset of degenerative arthritis2-4). There are a variety of ACL reconstruction techniques that allow for minimal physeal damage. When it comes to transphyseal ACL reconstruction, one of the most important criteria to determine the timing of surgery is the amount of remaining growth potential, because physeal damage during the procedure can lead to premature growth plate closure, growth disturbances, leg length discrepancies, or angular deformities5-9). The timing of growth plate closure can be different for each patient and skeletal maturity should be assessed by taking various factors into consideration including Tanner stage, Risser sign, adolescent growth spurt, and comparison of the patient’s height to that of the other family members. In practice, skeletal maturity is determined by radiographic evidence of physeal closure. Proper treatment selection for relatively young patients can be made without difficulty if skeletal maturity is considered achieve