March 19, 2014
Full Story
Children who undergo ACL repair are more likely to develop osteoarthritis later in life, according to research presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Specialty Day.
“Often these procedures do allow individuals to return to the playing field and continue an active lifestyle. However, it is still important to evaluate long-term effects such as osteoarthritis when considering surgeries for these pediatric patients,” Olle Mansson, MD, stated.
At 10-year to 20-year follow-up of ACL reconstructions, researchers analyzed 29 patients using clinical, radiographical and health-related quality of life assessments. Patients had underwent ACL reconstruction between the ages of 12 years to 16 years.
Osteoarthritic changes were observed in 65% of cases in the reconstructed knee as opposed to 14% in the untreated knee. Quality of life and other health-related scores were similar to patients in the healthy control groups. Tenger activity levels were a mean of 4 while the mean Lysholm knee score was 84 as opposed to preoperative values of 4 and 75, respectively. In both extension and flexion, the muscle strength measurements were more than 90% of the untreated knee.
Reference:
Mansson O. Paper #6. Presented at: American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Specialty Day; March 15, 2014; New Orleans.
Disclosure: Mansson has no relevant financial disclosures.