Correlation between patients' satisfaction and objective measurement of knee stability after ACL reconstruction using a patellar tendon autograft

We evaluated the relationship between patients' satisfaction and objective measurements of knee stability after reconstruction of the ACL using a patellar tendon autograft. An examination of 59 patients 2-7 years after surgery was carried out. Assessment was made by the Knee and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for patient satisfaction, a modified International Knee Documentation Committee form for clinical knee stability and a Telos stress radiography for PA stability. The results show that patients' satisfaction was much greater than the objective evaluation would suggest. We conclude that documenting mechanical knee stability alone is inadequate for follow-up studies and a questionnaire assessing patient satisfaction should be added. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.