Spontaneous Healing of the Ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Case Series of 21 Patients

OBJECTIVES: It is widely believed that ACL tears are incapable of healing. However, there are anecdotal experiences of the healed ACL and sporadic case reports and series documenting either clinical or radiographic evidence of healed ACL tears. A truly healed ACL would demonstrate a clinically stable knee on Lachman and pivot shift testing, normal return to function and MRI and/or arthroscopic documentation of a continuous ligament. This is in contrast to “copers” who have an ACL deficient knee but lack instability either because of good neuromuscular control or non-participation in activities which are heavily ACL dependent. In this prospective series we report on the presentation and 5 year follow-up of patients with both clinical and radiographically healed ACLs. METHODS: 19 patients who presented between July 2007 and April 2010 within 6 weeks of injury with clinical laxity and MRI confirmed ACL rupture. Patients subsequently demonstrated clinical knee stability at 8-12 weeks after pre-habilitation to obtain a pain free mobile joint. Prospective data was collected on these patients with MRI at 12 months, IKDC clinical and subjective scores, KT1000 instrumental laxity testing and Lysholm knee score at 12, 24 and 60 months. RESULTS: At one year follow-up MRI 18/19 patients demonstrated a healed ACL with normal signal, normal trajectory and continuity of fibres. Remainder 1 patient demonstrated bridging of ACL tear with scar tissue and abnormal trajectory of fibers. 5 of 19 patients re-ruptured within 5 years of follow-up. At 5 years follow-up, intact healed ACL patients had a mean IKDC score of 88, mean Lysholm score of 92 and mean KT1000 score of 1.7 mm. 100% reported regular participation in strenuous sport. CONCLUSION: Although rare, spontaneous healing of the ACL is possible. The mechanism by which this occurs in unknown. It is recommended that reassessment of knee stability should be performed in the non-acute phase after an appropriate prehabilitation program prior to ACL reconstruction to ensure spontaneous healing of the ACL has not occurred.