A study in American Journal of Sports Medicine investigated the likelihood of subsequent anterior cruciate ligament injury for patients who underwent ACL reconstruction at a young age.
The researchers identified 354 patients who were younger than 20 years old at their first primary hamstring tendon autograft ACL reconstruction. The researchers proceeded to determine the participants' subsequent ACL injuries at a mean follow-up of five years.
Here's what you need to know:
1. A total of 35 percent of patients had at least one subsequent ACL injury.
2. Graft rupture occurred in 18 percent of patients, at an average of 1.8 years after surgery.
3. When considering graft rupture, 47 percent occurred in the first postoperative year; 74 percent occurred within the first two postoperative years.
4. When considering graft rupture by age and gender, the highest rate of graft rupture — 28.3 percent — was seen in males whose first surgery took place when they were younger than 18 years old.
5. Contralateral ACL injury occurred in 17.7 percent of patients, at an average of 3.7 years after surgery; there were no significant variations in contralateral ACL injury by age or sex.