Arthroscopic Primary Repair for Partial Proximal Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear in Military Personnel.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the short-term clinical outcomes of arthroscopic primary repair for partial proximal anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in a young, active duty military population.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

A national tertiary-level medical and academic institution.

PATIENTS

Nineteen active duty military patients with partial proximal ACL tears and excellent tissue quality were included and 18 were finally analyzed.

INTERVENTIONS

All patients underwent arthroscopic primary repair using a suture anchor technique between March 2014 and June 2016.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Clinical outcomes were evaluated using anterior drawer test (ADT), Lachman test, pivot shift test, 3-km run test, 10 m × 5 shuttle run test, physical readiness test (PRT) score, Tegner activity score, Lysholm score, modified Cincinnati score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective score, and magnetic resonance imaging.

RESULTS

At final follow-up, 17 patients had negative ADT, Lachman, and pivot shift examination findings, and 1 patient had a 1+ ADT, negative Lachman, and pivot shift result. Mean 3-km run time at final follow-up was not statistically different from that preinjury (12:55 vs 12:39, P = 0.071), nor were the 10 m × 5 shuttle run time (23.4 vs 22.9, P = 0.235), PRT score (82.5 vs 85.1, P = 0.086), and Tegner activity score (7.8 vs 7.9, P = 0.083). Mean Lysholm score at final follow-up was significantly improved compared with that preoperative (93.1 vs 70.7, P < 0.001), so were the modified Cincinnati score (90.4 vs 58.6, P < 0.001) and IKDC subjective score (88.3 vs 67.4, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Arthroscopic primary repair can achieve short-term clinical success in high-demand military patients with partial proximal ACL tears and excellent tissue quality.