Arthroscopic Primary Repair for Partial Proximal Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear in Military Personnel

Objective: To evaluate the short-term clinical outcomes of arthroscopic primary repair for partial proximal anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in a young, active duty military population. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: A national tertiary-level medical and academic institution. Patients: Nineteen active duty military patients with partial proximal ACL tears and excellent tissue quality were included and 18 were finally analyzed. Interventions: All patients underwent arthroscopic primary repair using a suture anchor technique between March 2014 and June 2016. Main Outcome Measures: Clinical outcomes were evaluated using anterior drawer test (ADT), Lachman test, pivot shift test, 3-km run test, 10 m x 5 shuttle run test, physical readiness test (PRT) score, Tegner activity score, Lysholm score, modified Cincinnati score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective score, and magnetic resonance imaging. Results: At final follow-up, 17 patients had negative ADT, Lachman, and pivot shift examination findings, and 1 patient had a 1+ ADT, negative Lachman, and pivot shift result. Mean 3-km run time at final follow-up was not statistically different from that preinjury (12:55 vs 12:39, P = 0.071), nor were the 10 m x 5 shuttle run time (23.4 vs 22.9, P = 0.235), PRT score (82.5 vs 85.1, P = 0.086), and Tegner activity score (7.8 vs 7.9, P = 0.083). Mean Lysholm score at final follow-up was significantly improved compared with that preoperative (93.1 vs 70.7, P < 0.001), so were the modified Cincinnati score (90.4 vs 58.6, P < 0.001) and IKDC subjective score (88.3 vs 67.4, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Arthroscopic primary repair can achieve short-term clinical success in high-demand military patients with partial proximal ACL tears and excellent tissue quality.