Document Title: McCarroll-AJSM-Jul94.shtml
Article Title: Patellar Tendon Graft Reconstruction for Midsubstance Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture in Junior High School Athletes: An Algorithm for Management
Authors: John R. McCarroll, MD, K. Donald Shelbourne, MD, David A. Porter, MD, Arthur C. Rettig, MD, and Scott Murray, MS
Publication: American Journal of Sports Medicine
Date: July 1994
Volume 22, Number 4, pages 478-484
Keywords: pediatric ACL, delayed reconstruction, skeletal immaturity, skeletally immature, knee, risk, meniscus, activity, pediatric ACL reconstruction, knee degeneration due to chronic ACL deficiency.

(Reference-denoting numbers appear in the same font and point size as the document text. As with all Knee Library documents, this article is provided in full-text form, complete with all figures and tables.)

Comments: In this study, ACL-deficient children received patellar-tendon autografting. The authors reported good results, with no incidents of growth abnormalities. However, the authors were careful to only perform this surgery in cases where the physes (growth plates) were closing, not "wide open".

ABSTRACT

Between 1976 and 1988 we treated 75 junior high athletes who had midsubstance ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament and open physes. Thirty-eight children were initially treated conservatively and later had an intraarticular patellar tendon graft reconstruction, 2 patients underwent extraarticular reconstruction and then later had a pateliar tendon graft intraarticular reconstruction, and 20 children had a patellar tendon graft reconstruction initially. In all 60 patients the tibial and femoral tunnels were drilled through the open physes. Minimum followup was 2 years (mean, 4.2). Fifty-five of the 60 children were able to return to their original sports; 5 were active in less strenuous sports. No incidence of abnormal growth related to the intraarticular reconstructive surgery was recorded. Three children tore their anterior cruciate ligament grafts more than 2 years after surgery. Our records showed that conservative treatment of the active junior high athlete with an anterior cruciate ligament rupture failed in each case because of recurrent giving way or meniscal tears. Definitive treatment with an intraarlicular autogenous patellar tendon graft reconstruction yielded good to excellent results and eliminated subsequent instability episodes and meniscal tears in our study group.

To access the full text of this article, please click here.
There is no charge for viewing articles. However, a password is required.
If you do not already have a password, please e-mail Michael Frind at frind@execulink.com for one.
Prior to requesting a password, please make certain you have read the Site Terms of Use pertaining to this site.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Copyright American Journal of Sports Medicine, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, July 1994. For details regarding copyright as it applies to this page, please visit the page entitled Site Terms of Use and Aspects of Copyright on this site.

This website was created for the benefit of the world's largest knee-injury community, Bob's ACL WWWBoard (also known as the Kneeboard), accessible to everyone at http://factotem.org.

Documents posted on this site serve merely as a virtual library, and are intended solely for purposes of making access to high-quality peer-reviewed medical-journal articles convenient for all users of the Kneeboard. Knee-injury patients are hereby encouraged to discuss this material with their respective medical teams.

Site Terms of Use and Aspects of Copyright

Printing Hints and Tips