Subjective Functional Outcomes of Single-Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction With Different Femoral Tunnel Positions via Arthroscopy

Objective To compare the five-year subjective functional outcomes of single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with three different femoral tunnel positions under arthroscopic guidance. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on the clinical data of 165 patients who underwent ACLR at the Department of Sports Traumatology,Sports Hospital,National Institute of Sports Medicine,General Administration of Sport of China from January 2012 to December 2017.According to femoral tunnel positions,the patients were assigned into three groups of low centre (LC)section (n=53),high centre (HC) section (n=45),and high anterior medial (HAM) section (n=67).The three groups were compared before and 5 years after surgery regarding the following items:international knee documentation committee(IKDC) score,Lysholm score,and ACL-return to sport after injury (ACL-RSI) scale score. Results All patients were followed up for 57-64 months [(60.2±1.52) months].The IKDC scores in the LC,HC,and HAM groups 5 years after surgery were 80.80±10.82,77.36±14.36,and 85.33±7.42,respectively,and the scores were higher than those before surgery (all P=0.002).The HAM group had higher IKDC score than the LC and HC groups 5 years after surgery (P=0.022,P=0.008).The Lysholm scores in the LC,HC,and HAM groups 5 years after surgery were 80.87±10.83,77.67±15.23,and 86.10±7.68,respectively,which were higher than those before surgery (all P=0.002).Moreover,the HAM group had higher Lysholm score than the LC and HC groups (P=0.020,P=0.022).The ACL-RSI scores in the LC,HC,and HAM groups 5 years after surgery were 70.39±17.26,73.58±16.81,and 83.73±11.10,respectively,and the score was higher in the HAM group than in the LC and HC groups (P=0.014,P=0.038). Conclusions The ACL patients treated by ACLR with the HAM section had better rotational stability and subjective function 5 years after surgery.Therefore,we recommend the HAM section as the preferred femoral tunnel position in ACL reconstruction.