Impact of Surgical Timing on Clinical Outcomes in Anatomic Double-Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Using Hamstring Tendon Autografts

Background: To date, no studies have analyzed the influence on clinical outcomes of the interval between an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and double-bundle (DB) reconstruction with hamstring tendon autografts.

Hypotheses: (1) Performing ACL reconstruction sooner after an injury will reduce postoperative anterior and rotatory knee instability, (2) postoperative range of knee motion or functional results will not be affected by different intervals between injury and surgery, and (3) preoperative isokinetic peak torque of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles will be lower in patients undergoing surgery earlier, while postoperative muscle strength will not be affected by surgery timing.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: This study was conducted on a total of 171 patients who had undergone anatomic DB ACL reconstruction with hamstring tendon autografts. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on the time to surgery: (1) ≤1 month after the injury (group E; n = 25), (2) between 1 and 3 months after the injury (group M; n = 72), and (3) >3 months after the injury (group D; n = 74). Patients were assessed for a minimum of 2 years after surgery.

Results: Concerning postoperative anterior laxity, 1-way analysis of variance demonstrated a significant difference ( = .0274) among the 3 groups. Anterior laxity was significantly less in group E than in group D ( = .0206). Spearman rank correlation analysis showed a significant correlation (ρ = 0.200; = .0327) between anterior knee laxity and time to surgery. Also, a significant correlation ( = .0461) was found between the degree of the pivot-shift phenomenon and time to surgery. There were no significant differences in loss of knee extension or flexion among the 3 groups, nor were there any differences in the Lysholm knee score or International Knee Documentation Committee grade. Postoperatively, there were no significant differences in peak torque of the quadriceps or hamstring muscles among the 3 groups.

Conclusion: Early DB reconstruction led to significantly less anterior laxity compared with delayed reconstruction. There were no significant differences in postoperative range of knee motion or functional results among the 3 time intervals between injury and surgery in this study.