BackgroundTraumatic chondral lesions of the knee are common in football and rugby players. The diagnosis is often confirmed by arthroscopy which can be therapeutic by performing microfracture. Prospective information about the clinical results after microfracture is still limited.AimTo evaluate the short-term outcome of microfractured lesions in professional football ad rugby players in terms of healing and ability to return to play.MethodsTwenty-four consecutive professional male players with isolated full-thickness articular cartilage defects on weight-bearing surface of femoral condyles were treated with microfracture. Clinical assessment of healing was done at three, six, 12 and at 18 months by using modified Cincinnati subjective and objective functional scoring. All 24 subjects were periodically scanned by 3-Tesla MRI on the day of the clinical evaluations and scored by the Henderson MRI classification for cartilage healing. A second look arthroscopy was carried out in 10 players five to seven months after surgery to evaluate lesion healing by using ICRS scoring system. This was done due to presence of discrepancy between a "normal" MRI and persistent clinical symptoms.ResultsThis study showed that 83.3% of players' resume full training between five to seven months (mean: 6.2) after microfracture of full-thickness chondral lesions of weight-bearing surface of the knee. Function and MRI knee scores of the 24 subjects gradually improved over 18 months, and showed good correlation in assessing healing after microfracture at six, 12 and 18 months (r2 = 0.993, 0.986 and 0.993, respectively) however, the second look arthroscopy score proved to have stronger strength of association with function score than MRI score.ConclusionWe confirmed that microfracture is a safe and effective procedure in treating isolated traumatic chondral lesions of the load-bearing areas of the knee. Healing as defined by subjective symptoms and evaluated by MRI and a modified knee function score occurred between 5 to 7 months in most cases, which is a reasonable absence period for the majority of players to resume their normal sports activity without risking contracts and careers. MRI correlated well with the functional knee score, but neither of these methods were totally reliable in confirming healing at the defect site. Arthroscopic probing is therefore still the gold standard in our view. From a strict scientific stand point an untreated control group would be valuable to demonstrate that microfracture does not just mirror the natural course of healing.
BackgroundAnkle sprains are common in sports and can sometimes result in a persistent pain condition.PurposePrimarily to evaluate clinical symptoms, signs, diagnostics and outcomes of surgery for symptomatic chondral injuries of the talo crural joint in athletes. Secondly, in applicable cases, to evaluate the accuracy of MRI in detecting these injuries. Type of study: Prospective consecutive series.MethodsOver around 4 years we studied 61 consecutive athletes with symptomatic chondral lesions to the talocrural joint causing persistent exertion ankle pain.Results43% were professional full time athletes and 67% were semi-professional, elite or amateur athletes, main sports being soccer (49%) and rugby (14%). The main subjective complaint was exertion ankle pain (93%). Effusion (75%) and joint line tenderness on palpation (92%) were the most common clinical findings. The duration from injury to arthroscopy for 58/61 cases was 7 months (5.7–7.9). 3/61 cases were referred within 3 weeks from injury. There were in total 75 cartilage lesions. Of these, 52 were located on the Talus dome, 17 on the medial malleolus and 6 on the Tibia plafond. Of the Talus dome injuries 18 were anteromedial, 14 anterolateral, 9 posteromedial, 3 posterolateral and 8 affecting mid talus. 50% were grade 4 lesions, 13.3% grade 3, 16.7% grade 2 and 20% grade 1. MRI had been performed pre operatively in 26/61 (39%) and 59% of these had been interpreted as normal. Detection rate of cartilage lesions was only 19%, but subchondral oedema was present in 55%. At clinical follow up average 24 months after surgery (10–48 months), 73% were playing at pre-injury level. The average return to that level of sports after surgery was 16 weeks (3–32 weeks). However 43% still suffered minor symptoms.ConclusionArthroscopy should be considered early when an athlete presents with exertion ankle pain, effusion and joint line tenderness on palpation after a previous sprain. Conventional MRI is not reliable for detecting isolated cartilage lesions, but the presence of subchondral oedema should raise such suspicion.
Objectives: The outcome of revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is inferior to that of the primary reconstruction and is influenced by multiple factors. The purpose of this study was to identify the better autograft suited for revision ACLR and to assess the factors influencing the outcome of revision. Methods: A total of 102 patients who underwent revision ACLR were enrolled in this study. The patients were grouped based on the type of autograft used for revision. The mechanism of injury and the cause of the primary ACLR failure, meniscal, and chondral status were noted. All patients’ Tegner Lysholm functional scores were assessed at 2 years of follow-up. Results: Almost 37.3% of the patients underwent revision ACLR with bone-patellar tendon bone, 41.3% with semitendinosus-gracilis, and 21.3% with quadriceps tendon autografts. The mean Tegner-Lysholm score was 85.4 ± 15.8, with the majority achieving good to excellent scores. Chondral defect of Grade 3/4 was associated with an inferior poorer functional outcome (P = 0.03). At a 2-year follow-up, the non-contact mechanism of primary ACLR failure was associated with worse scores compared to the contact mechanism of failure (P = 0.03). On comparison of Lysholm functional score between different autografts using the Kruskal-Wallis test, the p-value was insignificant (P = 0.9). Conclusion: Non-contact mechanism of primary ACLR failure and Grade 3/4 chondral defects was associated with a poorer functional outcome at 2 years post-revision ACLR. The overall functional outcome of revision ACLR was good to excellent in our Middle East Asian population, with no one autograft found to be superior to the other.
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