Purpose: Tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are becoming more prevalent in the skeletally immature patient. We report our results with intra-articular transphyseal ACL reconstruction in this patient population.
Type of study: Retrospective analysis.
Methods: Ten skeletally immature athletes underwent transphyseal intra-articular ACL reconstruction using patellar tendon allograft. The patients ranged from 9 to 15 years of age. Clinical outcomes were measured using the Lysholm and International Knee Documentation Committee scoring systems, follow-up radiographs, clinical examination, and KT-1000 testing.
Results: Mean follow-up was 40 months. The average Lysholm score was 95, and 9 of 10 patients reported normal or nearly normal knee function. There was no clinical or objective evidence of instability, limb-length discrepancy, or early physeal arrest. Nine of 10 patients returned to their preinjury level of athletics.
Conclusions: Skeletally immature athletes with symptomatic complete ACL tears who do not want to modify their athletic activity may benefit from intra-articular ACL reconstruction using patellar tendon allografts. Special attention to bone plug and interference screw placement will reduce the risk of early physeal arrest.