Abstract
A prospective study was performed on 101 patients who underwent an arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with fresh-frozen patellar tendon allograft (bone-patellar tendon-bone). We present the results of the first 60 patients with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Thirty four were men and 26 women with a mean age of 23. In 45 patients, a postoperative arthroscopy was performed, and tissue biopsies of the reconstructed ACL were obtained. Patients were evaluated according to the International Knee Documentation Committee evaluation form. After a mean follow-up of 47 months, the overall results were normal or nearly normal in 85%. Under postoperative arthroscopy, the macroscopic appearance of the implant was similar to that of a normal ligament. The ACL allograft was covered with a normal. well-vascularized synovium. There were no cases of infection, disease transmission or tissue rejection. We conclude that the use of fresh-frozen patellar tendon allografts is a good method of ACL reconstruction.
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Valentí Nín, J.R., Leyes, M. & Schweitzer, D. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with fresh-frozen patellar tendon allografts: sixty cases with 2 years' minimum follow-up. Knee Surg, Sports traumatol, Arthroscopy 4, 137–142 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01577405
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01577405