ACL Reconstruction With Quadriceps Soft Tissue Autograft Versus Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft in Cutting and Pivoting Athletes: Outcomes at Minimum 2-Year Follow-up

Abstract

Background: The optimal graft choice for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) in the high-level cutting and pivoting athlete remains controversial. Studies have shown similar outcomes when directly comparing bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) autograft versus quadriceps soft tissue (QST) autograft in the general population. However, no studies have directly compared these 2 grafts in athletes participating in cutting and pivoting sports. Hypothesis: It was hypothesized that, compared with BPTB autograft, the QST autograft would result in similar patient-reported outcomes and rates of retear, return to sport, and complications. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on athletes participating in cutting and pivoting sports (soccer, American football, lacrosse, and basketball) who underwent primary ACLR with either BPTB autograft or QST autograft chosen by the athlete between January 2015 and January 2019. The International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective knee evaluation and Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale were used to evaluate patient-reported outcomes. Return-to-sport and complication rates were identified. Descriptive statistics were expressed using Mann-Whitney test or Student t test for continuous variables and the chi-square test for categorical variables. Results: A total of 68 athletes (32 QST, 36 BPTB) were included for analysis. The percentage follow-up was 89% (32/36) for the QST autograft group and 86% (36/42) for the BPTB autograft group. The 2-year IKDC score (QST, 90.5 ± 6.6 vs BPTB, 89.7 ± 7.8) and 2-year Lysholm score (QST, 91.3 ± 7.5 vs BPTB, 90.5 ± 8.6) were similar between groups. The percentage of athletes able to return to sport within the follow-up period was also similar (88% vs 83%; P = .63). There were 2 retears requiring revision in the BPTB group (6%) and no retears in the QST group ( P = .18). One contralateral ACL rupture occurred in the QST group (3%) and 4 in the BPTB group (11%) ( P = .21). Conclusion: The QST and BPTB autografts demonstrated similar patient-reported outcomes, return-to-sport rates, and complication rates after primary ACLR at 2-year follow-up. Both autografts appear to be reliable and consistent options for ACLR in the cutting and pivoting athlete.

Increased risk for early revision with quadriceps graft compared with patellar tendon graft in primary ACL reconstructions

“…In the present study, no differences were found in the change of KOOS, subcategories 'Sports' and 'Quality of Life' at the 2-year follow-up. This finding aligns with previous published studies that focused on patient-reported outcomes [18,20,34,47,58]. However, several studies highlighted that QT grafts were associated with lower donor site morbidity [1,13,27,31,47,48], an aspect that the KOOS questionnaire unfortunately may not capture.…”

“…Furthermore, biomechanical, histological and magnetic resonance studies may favour QT graft compared with BPTB graft [9,53,57,63]. However, previous published studies that evaluated BPTB, HT and QT (with or without bone plug) have reported similar outcomes with regard to function and suggested that ACLR with QT autograft is a reliable and safe choice [13,18,31,47,50,54].…”