Original Research
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Adolescents: A Survivorship Analysis
Am J Orthop. 2008 January;37(1):47-49
Author and Disclosure Information
Wudbhav N. Sankar, MD, Robert B. Carrigan, MD, John R. Gregg, MD, and Theodore J. Ganley, MD
Dr. Sankar is Instructor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Carrigan is Orthopaedic Surgeon, Premier Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Ridley Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
†Deceased. Dr. Gregg was Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Ganley is Assistant Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There are few reports on the longevity of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in adolescents. In the study reported here, we performed a survivorship analysis of our experience with ACL reconstructions in adolescents. We retrospectively reviewed the cases of 276 consecutive patients (girls’ bone age, >13 years; boys’ bone age, >14 years; chronological age, <18 years) who underwent primary ACL reconstruction. All patients underwent transphyseal ACL reconstruction with Achilles tendon soft-tissue allograft using the same technique. Twenty-nine patients (10.5%) were excluded or lost to follow-up. Mean follow-up of the remaining 247 patients was 6.3 years (range, 2- 10 years). Data were collected from charts and telephone interviews. Failure was defined as the report of symptomatic knee instability and/or revision ACL surgery. The Kaplan-Meier method showed that 1-year survivorship of ACL reconstruction was 96.4% and 5-year survivorship was 93.1%.