Effect of femoral condyle configuration on disability after an anterior cruciate ligament rupture. 100 patients followed for 5 years.

We measured the configuration of the femoral condyles on lateral radiographs in 100 consecutive, prospectively-studied patients with a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, with or without associated lesions of the menisci and collateral ligaments. The patients had mainly low-to-moderate activity demands, and in all the patients the cruciate tear was primarily treated non-operatively. A quotient was calculated from the measurements of sagittal depth and axial height in order to describe the geometry of the femoral condyles. Measurements were reproducible with an intra- and interobserver coefficient of correlation of 0.89-0.98. At follow-up, after 5 (3-6) years, 16 patients had developed disability leading to reconstructive surgery. The remaining 84 patients did not have any major functional limitations, but some had reduced their activity level. Individual variations in the articular geometry were found with a more spherical shape of the femoral condyles in the patients where non-operative treatment had failed. Our findings indicate that articular geometry is of importance for function after an anterior ligament lesion.