EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS OF ARTHROSCOPIC ACL RECONSTRUCTION WITH AUTOGENOUS FLEXOR TENDONS

Objective: To evaluate the results from reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) using with flexor tendon autografts from the thigh, with analysis on data relating to sex, body mass index (BMI) and associations with lower limb fracture. Methods: A group of 265 patients who underwent knee arthroscopy for the purposes of ACL reconstruction using an ipsilateral graft from the flexor tendon of the thigh between July 6, 2000, and November 19, 2007, were evaluated. Results: One hundred and seventy-six patients were evaluated over a mean period of 34.95 ± 18.8 months (median: 31 months) (IQR: 20-48 months). The minimum evaluation period was 12 months and the maximum was 87 months. One hundred and thirty-eight patients (78.4%) had excellent results, 22 (12.5%) had good results, eight (4.5%) had fair results and eight (4.5%) had poor results. Higher incidence of good and excellent results for the following categories was not considered to be significant: males (p = 0.128), patients with BMI < 25 (p = 0.848), or patients with ACL injuries unrelated to an initial traumatic episode of lower-limb fracture (p = 0.656). Conclusion: The ACL reconstruction technique using tendon autografts from the thigh showed good and excellent results for 91.4% of the sample. Male patients seemed to present a greater tendency towards good and excellent results. No statistically significant difference was found when the results were analyzed in relation to BMI or associations with initial traumatic fracture episodes in the lower limbs.