American Journal of Sports Science

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Arthroscopic Primary Repair of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Literature Review

Received: Jul. 04, 2020    Accepted: Jul. 21, 2020    Published: Aug. 17, 2020
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Abstract

Introduction: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important mechanical stabilizer of the knee joint and ACL injuries are commonly seen among athletes. The gold-standard treatment adopted worldwide for ACL injuries is arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. However, arthroscopic primary ACL repair has gained popularity recently. The aim of this review is to provide an overall update of the studies that looked at arthroscopic primary ACL repair. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for relevant studies linked to arthroscopic primary ACL repair. We excluded any nonsurgical treatment studies, cadaveric studies and review articles. Nine hundred ninety-five articles were identified for screening, and a total of 523 patients from 8 articles were included for the review. Results: The study included articles published between 1985 and 2019: 66.6% were male, median age was 27 years; and 97.7% had sport related injuries. Two-hundred and nineteen patients had acute arthroscopic primary repair with varying types of ACL fixation; 287 of them had concomitant injuries. Rehabilitation program varies from a study to another; average evaluation for return to sport was 6 months. Eleven cases of the primary ACL repair have failed. Overall, patients reported satisfactory to good results. Conclusion: Arthroscopic primary ACL repair is a promising procedure with advantages over ACL reconstruction. However, appropriate patients’ selection, surgical expertise and instrumentations, pre- and post-op rehabilitation programs are all contributing factors to successful outcomes.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14
Published in American Journal of Sports Science ( Volume 8, Issue 3, September 2020 )
Page(s) 68-72
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Anterior Cruciate Ligament, Arthroscopy, Repair

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Salim Al Rawahi, Humaid Al Farii, Sultan Al Maskari. (2020). Arthroscopic Primary Repair of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Literature Review. American Journal of Sports Science, 8(3), 68-72. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14

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    ACS Style

    Salim Al Rawahi; Humaid Al Farii; Sultan Al Maskari. Arthroscopic Primary Repair of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Literature Review. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2020, 8(3), 68-72. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14

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    AMA Style

    Salim Al Rawahi, Humaid Al Farii, Sultan Al Maskari. Arthroscopic Primary Repair of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Literature Review. Am J Sports Sci. 2020;8(3):68-72. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14,
      author = {Salim Al Rawahi and Humaid Al Farii and Sultan Al Maskari},
      title = {Arthroscopic Primary Repair of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Literature Review},
      journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {68-72},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20200803.14},
      abstract = {Introduction: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important mechanical stabilizer of the knee joint and ACL injuries are commonly seen among athletes. The gold-standard treatment adopted worldwide for ACL injuries is arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. However, arthroscopic primary ACL repair has gained popularity recently. The aim of this review is to provide an overall update of the studies that looked at arthroscopic primary ACL repair. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for relevant studies linked to arthroscopic primary ACL repair. We excluded any nonsurgical treatment studies, cadaveric studies and review articles. Nine hundred ninety-five articles were identified for screening, and a total of 523 patients from 8 articles were included for the review. Results: The study included articles published between 1985 and 2019: 66.6% were male, median age was 27 years; and 97.7% had sport related injuries. Two-hundred and nineteen patients had acute arthroscopic primary repair with varying types of ACL fixation; 287 of them had concomitant injuries. Rehabilitation program varies from a study to another; average evaluation for return to sport was 6 months. Eleven cases of the primary ACL repair have failed. Overall, patients reported satisfactory to good results. Conclusion: Arthroscopic primary ACL repair is a promising procedure with advantages over ACL reconstruction. However, appropriate patients’ selection, surgical expertise and instrumentations, pre- and post-op rehabilitation programs are all contributing factors to successful outcomes.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Arthroscopic Primary Repair of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Literature Review
    AU  - Salim Al Rawahi
    AU  - Humaid Al Farii
    AU  - Sultan Al Maskari
    Y1  - 2020/08/17
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14
    T2  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JF  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JO  - American Journal of Sports Science
    SP  - 68
    EP  - 72
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8540
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200803.14
    AB  - Introduction: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important mechanical stabilizer of the knee joint and ACL injuries are commonly seen among athletes. The gold-standard treatment adopted worldwide for ACL injuries is arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. However, arthroscopic primary ACL repair has gained popularity recently. The aim of this review is to provide an overall update of the studies that looked at arthroscopic primary ACL repair. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for relevant studies linked to arthroscopic primary ACL repair. We excluded any nonsurgical treatment studies, cadaveric studies and review articles. Nine hundred ninety-five articles were identified for screening, and a total of 523 patients from 8 articles were included for the review. Results: The study included articles published between 1985 and 2019: 66.6% were male, median age was 27 years; and 97.7% had sport related injuries. Two-hundred and nineteen patients had acute arthroscopic primary repair with varying types of ACL fixation; 287 of them had concomitant injuries. Rehabilitation program varies from a study to another; average evaluation for return to sport was 6 months. Eleven cases of the primary ACL repair have failed. Overall, patients reported satisfactory to good results. Conclusion: Arthroscopic primary ACL repair is a promising procedure with advantages over ACL reconstruction. However, appropriate patients’ selection, surgical expertise and instrumentations, pre- and post-op rehabilitation programs are all contributing factors to successful outcomes.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada

  • Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada

  • Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

  • Section