Background: Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a common and feared injury among athletes because of its potential effect on further sports participation. Reported rates of return to pivoting sports after ACL reconstruction (ACLR) vary in the literature, and the long-term consequences of returning have rarely been studied. Purpose: To examine the rate and level of return to pivoting sports after ACLR, the duration of sports participation, and long-term consequences of returning to pivoting sports. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: All primary ACLRs with a bone–patellar tendon–bone autograft between 1987 and 1994 (N = 234) in athletes participating in team handball, basketball, or soccer before injury were selected from a single-center quality database. A long-term evaluation (median, 25 years; range, 22-30 years) was performed using a questionnaire focusing on return to pivoting sports, the duration of sports activity after surgery, later contralateral ACL injuries, revision surgery, and knee replacement surgery. Participants were stratified into 2 groups depending on the time between injury and surgery (early, <24 months; late, ≥24 months). Results: A total of 93% of patients (n = 217) responded to the questionnaire. Although 83% of patients returned to pivoting sports after early ACLR, only 53% returned to preinjury level. Similar return-to-sport rates were observed in males and females ( P > .05), but males had longer sports careers (median, 10 years; range, 1-23 years) than females (median, 4 years; range, 1-25 years; P < .001). The incidence of contralateral ACL injuries was 28% among athletes who returned to sports versus 4% among athletes who did not return ( P = .017) after early ACLR. The pooled reinjury rate after return to preinjury level of sports was 41% (30%, contralateral injuries; 11%, revision surgery). The incidence of contralateral ACL injuries was 32% among females versus 23% among males ( P > .05) and, for revision surgery, was 12% among females versus 7% among males ( P > .05) after returning to sports. Having a late ACLR was associated with an increased risk of knee replacement surgery (9% vs 3%; P = .049) when compared with having an early ACLR. Conclusion: ACLR does not necessarily enable a return to preinjury sports participation. By returning to pivoting sports after ACLR, athletes are also facing a high risk of contralateral ACL injuries. Long-term evaluations in risk assessments after ACLR are important, as a significant number of subsequent ACL injuries occur later than the routine follow-up.

Background: In spite of supposedly successful surgery, slight residual knee laxity may be found at follow-up evaluations after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), and its clinical effect is undetermined. Purpose: To investigate whether a 3- to 5-mm increase in anterior translation 6 months after ACLR affects the risk of graft failure, rate of return to sports, and long-term outcome. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: From a cohort of 234 soccer, team handball, and basketball players undergoing ACLR using bone–patellar tendon–bone graft, 151 athletes were included who attended 6-month follow-up that included KT-1000 arthrometer measures. A tight graft was defined as <3-mm side-to-side difference between knees (n = 129), a slightly loose graft as 3 to 5 mm (n = 20), and a loose graft as >5 mm (n = 2). Graft failure was defined as ACL revision surgery, >5-mm side-to-side difference, or anterolateral rotational instability 2+ or 3+ at 2-year follow-up. Finally, a 25-year evaluation was performed, including a clinical examination and questionnaires. Results: The rate of return to pivoting sports was 74% among athletes with tight grafts and 70% among those with slightly loose grafts. Also, return to preinjury level of sports was similar between those with slightly loose and tight grafts (40% vs 48%, respectively), but median duration of the sports career was longer among patients with tight grafts: 6 years (range, 1-25 years) vs 2 years (range, 1-15 years) ( P = .01). Five slightly loose grafts (28%) and 6 tight grafts (5%) were classified as failures after 2 years ( P = .002). Thirty percent (n = 6) of patients with slightly loose grafts and 6% (n = 8) with tight grafts had undergone revision ( P = .004) by follow-up (25 years, range, 22-30 years). Anterior translation was still increased among the slightly loose grafts as compared with tight grafts at long-term follow-up ( P < .05). In patients with tight grafts, 94% had a Lysholm score ≥84 after 24 months and 58% after 25 years, as opposed to 78% ( P = .02) and 33% ( P = .048), respectively, among patients with slightly loose grafts. Conclusion: A slightly loose graft at 6 months after ACLR increased the risk of later ACL revision surgery and/or graft failure, reduced the length of the athlete’s sports career, caused permanent increased anterior laxity, and led to an inferior Lysholm score.

Background: Few studies have investigated the outcome ≥20 years after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with a bone–patellar tendon–bone autograft, and there is a wide range in the reported rates of radiographic osteoarthritis (OA). Purpose: To report on radiographic OA development and to assess risk factors of knee OA at a median 25 years after ACLR with a bone–patellar tendon–bone autograft. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Unilateral ACLRs performed at a single center from 1987 to 1994 were included (N = 235). The study population was followed prospectively with clinical testing and questionnaires. Results from the 3-month, 12-month, and median 25-year follow-up are presented. In addition, a radiographic evaluation was performed at the final follow-up. Radiographic OA was defined as Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥2 or having undergone ipsilateral knee replacement surgery. Possible predictors of OA development included patient age, sex, time from injury to surgery, use of a Kennedy ligament augmentation device, any concomitant meniscal surgery, and return to preinjury sports after surgery. Results: At long-term follow-up, 60% (141/235) of patients had radiographic OA in the involved knee and 18% (40/227) in the contralateral knee ( P < .001). Increased age at surgery, male sex, increased time between injury and surgery, a Kennedy ligament augmentation device, and medial and lateral meniscal surgery were significant predictors of OA development in univariate analyses. Return to preinjury level of sports after surgery was associated with less development of OA. In the multivariate model, medial meniscal surgery and lateral meniscal surgery were independently associated with OA development. The adjusted odds ratio was 1.88 (95% CI, 1.03-3.43; P = .041) for medial meniscal surgery and 1.96 (95% CI, 1.05-3.67; P = .035) for lateral meniscal surgery. Patients who had developed radiographic signs of OA had significantly lower Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score and Lysholm scores at long-term follow-up. Conclusion: At 25 years after ACLR, 60% of patients had developed OA in the involved knee, and these patients reported significantly lower subjective outcomes. Medial meniscal surgery and lateral meniscal surgery were independent predictors of OA development at long-term follow-up.