A retrospective cohort study evaluating the risk of re-arthroscopy two years after Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction

Introduction: The Anterior Cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most important ligaments in the knee providing joint stability. Rupture of ACL is the most common sports injury. About half of the patients undergo surgical reconstruction. The Orthopaedic clinic in Region Örebro county underwent a reorganization in 2016. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the two-year risk of re-arthroscopy in the same knee after primary ACL-reconstruction. Material and Methods: A retrospective cohort study. All patients from 1st January 2005 until 31st December 2017 with primary ACL reconstruction in Region Örebro county were included. Data was collected from medical records and The Swedish National Anterior Cruciate Ligament Register. Results: 431 patients were included. The total risk of re-arthroscopy was 13.0%. Meniscal surgeries and age did not affect the outcome. Fixation method in femur and tibia affected the outcome, as did choice of graft. There was a small numerical difference before (13.4%) vs after (12.1%) the reorganization, but it was not statistically significant either unadjusted or adjusted for age and meniscal surgeries (p=0.721). Conclusions: Our study indicates that choice of graft and fixation method in femur and tibia affect the re-arthroscopy rate. Regarding graft, the semitendinosus tendon alone was the better option, and for fixation both for femur and tibia it seems like Tightrope was the best option and screw the worst. The reorganization did not affect the outcome but might have other benefits