Henry B. Ellis Jr., MD

Results showed 3.9% of pediatric and adolescent patients who underwent ACL reconstruction developed arthrofibrosis; however, skeletally immature patients had significantly lower rates of arthrofibrosis vs. skeletally mature patients.

NEW ORLEANS — Medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction should be the primary treatment for first-time patellar instability in skeletally immature patients, despite historical use of the adductor sling technique, a presenter said.

Pediatric and adolescent patients with ACL tears had a 2% increase in the risk of medial meniscal injury each week that a surgical procedure was delayed following the initial injury, according to published results.

When parents are faced with a decision regarding the optimal treatment for their child with an ACL injury, they commonly ask, “If this was your child, what would you do?” For most, the answer is easy. We want the best surgeon to decide the best treatment that has the best outcome and the least probability of a complication. Interestingly, the paucity of high-level evidence in this area does not support the general consensus of pediatric sports medicine experts. The pendulum continues to swing as historical dogma in the treatment of pediatric ACL injuries was to delay until skeletal maturity. However, recent advances in techniques have suggested a safe alternative is early surgical treatment of ACL injuries.