Surgeon’s experience, sports participation and a concomitant MCL injury increase the use of patellar and quadriceps tendon grafts in primary ACL reconstruction: a nationwide registry study of 39,964 surgeries

PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of surgeon-related factors and clinic routines on autograft choice in primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). METHODS: Data from the Swedish National Knee Ligament Registry (SNKLR), 2008–2019, were used to study autograft choice (hamstring; HT, patellar; PT, or quadriceps tendon; QT) in primary ACLR. Patient/injury characteristics (sex, age at surgery, activity at time of injury and associated injuries) and surgeon-/clinic-related factors (operating volume, caseload and graft type use) were analyzed. Surgeon/clinic volume was divided into tertiles (low-, mid- and high-volume categories). Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess variables influencing autograft choice in 2015–2019, presented as the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: 39,964 primary ACLRs performed by 299 knee surgeons in 91 clinics were included. Most patients received HT (93.7%), followed by PT (4.2%) and QT (2.1%) grafts. Patients were mostly operated on by high-volume (> 28 ACLRs/year) surgeons (68.1%), surgeons with a caseload of ≥ 50 ACLRs (85.1%) and surgeons with the ability to use ≥ two autograft types (85.9%) (all p < 0.001). Most patients underwent ACLR at high-volume (> 55 ACLRs/year) clinics (72.2%) and at clinics capable of using ≥ two autograft types (93.1%) (both p < 0.001). Significantly increased odds of receiving PT/QT autografts were found for ACLR by surgeons with a caseload of ≥ 50 ACLRs (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.11–1.79), but also for injury during handball (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.02–1.67), various other pivoting sports (basketball, hockey, rugby and American football) (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.24–2.03) and a concomitant medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury (OR 4.93, 95% CI 4.18–5.80). In contrast, female sex (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77–0.97), injury during floorball (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.55–0.91) and ACLR by mid-volume relative to high-volume surgeons (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.53–0.73) had significantly reduced odds of receiving PT/QT autografts. CONCLUSION: An HT autograft was used in the vast majority of cases, but PT/QT autografts were used more frequently by experienced surgeons. Prior research has demonstrated significant differences in autograft characteristics. For this reason, patients might benefit if surgery is performed by more experienced surgeons. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.