Twelve-Year Follow-up on Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Long-term Outcomes of Prospectively Studied Osseous and Articular Injuries

BackgroundAlthough successful at restoring near normal laxity to the knee in the short term, anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions have not been shown to prevent the development of posttraumatic arthritis.HypothesisBone bruises and articular cartilage injuries sustained at the time of initial injury (1991) would not resolve. Our secondary hypothesis was that the presence of a bone bruise or articular cartilage injury originally identified on magnetic resonance imaging would not be associated with long-term outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction evaluated by the International Knee Documentation Committee questionnaire.Study DesignCohort study (prognosis); Level of evidence, 1.MethodsWe attempted to contact all patients from an original cohort (N = 54) for follow-up evaluation, which included repeat radiographs, magnetic resonance images, physical examination, and International Knee Documentation Committee questionnaire more than a decade postoperatively.ResultsForty-four patients (82...