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Long-Term Outcome of ACL Reconstruction

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Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

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Abstract

The occurrence of osteoarthritis (OA) is often thought of as a near-inevitable long-term consequence of ACL injury, with prevalences of 50–80 % reported a decade after the initial trauma [18, 36]. In this view, ACL tears are often quoted as being responsible for a large percentage of the “young patients with old knees,” [18, 37] irrespective of the treatment method. Although surgical ACL reconstruction using tendon grafts has become the current standard of care to treat the functionally unstable ACL-deficient knee [36], controversy remains to exist regarding the effect of ACL reconstruction on the development of knee OA in this generally young population. Current literature contains a number of reports suggesting that the prevalence of OA remains unchanged whether or not the ACL is surgically reconstructed [14, 19], but Daniel et al. [4] even detected an increased incidence of OA in the ACL-reconstructed group. On the other end of the spectrum, some authors seem to maintain excellent results a decade after ACL reconstruction, with reported OA prevalences of 2–3 % [14, 29].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Algemeen Ziekenhuis Herentals, Herentals, Belgium

    Steven Claes MD, PhD

  2. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Steven Claes MD, PhD

  3. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Jan Palfyn Ziekenhuis, Ghent, Belgium

    Rene Verdonk MD, PhD

  4. Testeltsesteenweg 24, Langdorp, Belgium

    Johan Bellemans MD

  5. Antwerp Orthopedic Center, Monica Hospitals Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Peter C. Verdonk MD, PhD

  6. Faculty of Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Peter C. Verdonk MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Steven Claes MD, PhD
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  2. Rene Verdonk MD, PhD
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  3. Johan Bellemans MD
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  4. Peter C. Verdonk MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven Claes MD, PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. ATOS Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Rainer Siebold

  2. Lyon Ortho Clinic, Lyon, France

    David Dejour

  3. Istituti Ortopedico Rizzoli Clinica Ortopedica Traumatologica III, Bologna, Italy

    Stefano Zaffagnini

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Claes, S., Verdonk, R., Bellemans, J., Verdonk, P.C. (2014). Long-Term Outcome of ACL Reconstruction. In: Siebold, R., Dejour, D., Zaffagnini, S. (eds) Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45349-6_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45349-6_27

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-45348-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-45349-6

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