Sex, tunnel size may increase arthrofibrosis risk after ACL reconstruction with autograft
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SAN FRANCISCO — Results presented here showed women were more likely to experience arthrofibrosis after ACL reconstruction with quadriceps tendon autograft compared with men, and larger graft size increased the risk of arthrofibrosis.
Rebecca Haley, BA, and colleagues reviewed all patients who underwent ACL reconstruction with a soft-tissue quadriceps tendon autograft to identify factors that may lead to arthrofibrosis.
“We had arthrofibrosis as requiring a secondary procedure for lysis of adhesions within 6 months of the primary surgery due to the inability to regain terminal extension,” Haley said in a presentation at the Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting, here.
Among 767 patients with 802 quadriceps tendon ACL reconstructions, Haley said 7% of cases experienced arthrofibrosis, which was about 2.6 times more likely to occur among women compared with men. She said concomitant meniscal repair increased the risk of arthrofibrosis, and the most significant factor for arthrofibrosis was femoral tunnel size.
“For males, a femoral tunnel size less than or equal to 9 mm and, for females, less than or equal to 8.5 mm decreased the risk of arthrofibrosis,” Haley said.