Comparison of Three Methods for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Following an ACL injury, the knee is predisposed to chronic instability, further damage to the meniscal and chondral structures in the knee, osteoarthritis and an impaired quality of life. The successful treatment of an ACL deficient knee aims to preserve the intact meniscus and chondral structures, and to provide a functionally stable knee so that patients can return to pre-injury activities and restore their quality of life. The current standard of care for ACL deficient knees is with a surgical ACL reconstruction procedure. A Cochrane Review was done and demonstrated that the existing literature is controversial. To date, no existing trial has used validated patient-based outcome assessment, accounted for the critical differences between acute and chronic ACL deficiency or used modern techniques to ensure randomization concealment and a sufficient sample size to avoid type II error. The existing information does not define graft failure or re-ruptures, involve long-term follow-up to address osteoarthritis development, nor compare outcomes between single- and double-bundle reconstructive techniques. The current standard includes either a patellar tendon or quadruple semitendinosus/gracilis tendon autograft reconstruction. The newest option is a double-bundle semitendinosus/gracilis graft. This option attempts to restore the complex ACL anatomy by using two separate tendon components to reconstruct the ACL. This study will measure disease-specific quality of life at short- and long-term post-operative intervals (1, 2, 5 and 10 years). Additional secondary outcomes, including the incidence of traumatic re-ruptures and graft failures, will also be compared between treatment groups.