Lateral Extra-articular Tenodesis Combined With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Is Effective in Knees With Additional Features of Lateral, Hyperextension, or Increased Rotational Laxity: A Matched Cohort Study.

Purpose To investigate the patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and graft survival of combined anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and lateral extra-articular tenodesis (ACLR-LET) compared with a matched cohort having ACLR alone. Methods Patients were retrospectively recruited from a consecutive series of primary ACLR-LET, between 1996 and 2015, with a minimum postsurgical time of 4 years. ACLR-LET were matched with isolated ACLR for age, gender, and operation year. The indications for adding lateral extra-articular tenodesis were lateral laxity of grade 1 or 2, hyperextension laxity, and/or increased rotational laxity of 5° to 10°. The technique used involved detaching a strip of iliotibial band proximally, before being passed deep to the lateral collateral ligament, looped through Kaplan’s fibers, and sutured back onto itself at physiological tension. The PROMs used were the Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, Tegner Activity Scale, Oxford Knee Score, and International Knee Documentation Committee subjective knee form. Failure was defined as graft rupture. Student’s t-test was used to compare the matched groups and Kaplan-Meier analysis for survivorship. Results Eighty-three patients had ACLR-LET between 1996 and 2015. Nine revision cases and 2 with less than 4 years follow-up were excluded. The remaining 72 ACLR-LET patients were matched and included in the survival analysis. Seventy percent of patients completed the PROMs. In both groups, 76% were males, and the mean age was 25 years (standard deviation ± 8.5). The median follow-up was 10 years (interquartile range, 6.7 years). There was no significant change of PROMs (Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale: P = .82, 95% confidence interval (CI) −13 to 11; International Knee Documentation Committee: P = .07, CI −1 to 24; Oxford Knee Score: P = .5, CI −8 to 4; Tegner Activity Scale: P = .5, CI −1 to 3) between the groups. The pre- to postoperative PROMs, except the Tegner Activity Scale, improved significantly, clinically and statistically. There was no statistically significant difference in graft failure between the ACLR-LET group (n = 4, 5%) and the ACLR group (n = 9, 11%) (log-rank P = .099). Conclusion ACLR-LET shows good graft survival and PROMs in a high-risk population. This suggests that lateral extra-articular tenodesis is an effective technique to restore joint stability to a knee with additional features of laxity. Level of Evidence III, matched cohort study.