Metall-versus bioabsorbable polyglyconate interference screw for graft fixation in ACL reconstruction: a prospective randomized study of 40 patients

To overcome some of the potential problems (e.g. hardware removal during revision surgery) of metall interference screws used for patellar tendon anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, bioabsorbable screws have recently been introduced. Forty patients who underwent endoscopic ACL reconstruction using patella tendon autograft were included in the study,they were randomized intraoperatively to either Group A (femoral bone block fixation: polyglyconate screw; tibial: metall screw) or Group B (both bone blocks fixed with metall interference screws). The patients were evaluated clinically preoperatively as well as 6 weeks, 3 months 12 months and 24 months post op. Lysholm Score at 24 months was 98,1+/-2,3 for Group A and 97,7+/-3,0 for Group B.Tegner Score was 7,4+/-1,1 for Group A and 7,5+/-0,8 for Group B. Two years post op overall IKDC-Score for group A was 5,6% normal, 88,8% nearly normal and 5,6% abnormal. The result for group B was 11,1%,77,8% and 11,1%, respectively. KT-1000 (at 89 N) at two years revealed a side to side difference of 1,5+/-0,3 mm (Group A) and 1,6+/-0,7 (Group B). The results of the two groups did not show significant differences at any stage of follow up. In our study polyglyconate interference screw fixation for patellar tendon grafts has not found to be associated with increased clinical complications. It provided equivalent fixation and clinical results compared to metall screws.