Role of Age on Success of Arthroscopic Primary Repair of Proximal Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears

Purpose: To assess failure rates and patient-reported outcomes measures following arthroscopic primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair of proximal tears in different age groups. Methods: Between 2008 and 2017, the first 113 consecutive patients treated with repair were retrospectively reviewed at minimum of 2 years. Patients were stratified into 3 age groups: 21, 22-35, and .005). No significant differences were seen in reoperation, complication, or contralateral injury rates between groups (all P .2), nor in patient-reported outcomes measures between the groups (all P > .1). Conclusions: The failure rate of primary repair of proximal ACL tears is high in patients aged 21 or younger (37.0%), and this should be taken into account when discussing repair in this patient group. In patients older than 21, repair may be an excellent treatment with low failure (3.5%) and complication rates (1.2%) and good subjective scores. Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective comparative therapeutic trial.

Automated summary

The study found that patients aged 21 or younger have a high failure rate of primary repair of proximal ACL tears (37.0%), while patients older than 21 have lower failure rates, lower complication rates, and good subjective scores after repair.