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We performed a retrospective study on 80 patients who underwent single-incision arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with patellar tendon autograft and interference fit screw fixation in 1989. Twelve patients were lost to followup, allowing a clinical assessment of 68 patients to be conducted by independent examiners at 1 and 5 years after surgery, with radiographic assessment at 5 years. Thirty-three patients had chronic anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knees. Three patients reruptured their grafts during sports at 29, 48, and 56 months. At 5 years, 64 patients (98%) had grade 0 or 1 Lachman and pivot shift tests with manual stability testing. Fifty patients (77%) were participating in level I or II activities according to the International Knee Documentation Committee scale. Twenty-nine patients (45%) experienced low levels of pain when performing at their highest activity level. Five (8%) had thigh atrophy greater than 1 cm, and three (5%) had an extension loss of more than 3 degrees. Eleven patients (17%) had tenderness over the graft site when kneeling. Fifteen of 62 patients (24%) had degenerative changes on radiographs, and this was more common in patients with chronic anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knees. Fifty-two patients (80%) had normal or nearly normal knees according to the overall International Knee Documentation Committee score.
Otto et al. (Sun,) studied this question.