Long-term results after primary augmented repair of proximal tears of the anterior cruciate ligament with the Kennedy-LAD - Does it work?
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to objectively evaluate the clinical functionality of the knee joint 30 years after surgical augmentation of the ACL with the "Kennedy Ligament Augmentation Device ®" (Kennedy LAD®).


METHODS
The patient collective consisted of 41 patients with an average age of 59.51 years (±10.18 standard deviation). Included were all patients treated operatively with a Kennedy LAD® augmented reattachment of the ACL at the Department of Trauma Surgery between 1983 and 1985. The state of the knee joint was evaluated with the following measures: Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, Lysholm Score, Short Form (36) Health Survey, International Knee Documentation Committee Score (IKDC, objective + subjective form) and Tegner Activity Scale.


RESULTS
Seven patients (17%) sustained a re-rupture of the Kennedy LAD® augmented ACL after a mean time of 16.28 years. Five of them underwent revision surgery. Another four patients (9.76%) showed an ACL insufficiency in clinical examination. The average IKDC Score was 74.14 ± 16.62, the average Lysholm Score was 86.83 ± 14.10, the average Tegner Activity Scale was 4.34 ± 1.11, and the average Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score was 86.25 ± 11.64 at final follow-up. The mean Kellgren Lawrence Score of the operated knee was 2 ± 0.71.


CONCLUSION
An overall good outcome 30 years after primary ACL augmented repair with the Kennedy LAD® with an implant survival rate of 73% could be reached. These results therefore support the trend of ACL augmentation in selected cases.


LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Retrospective study, Level IV.
['Winnisch|M|M|', 'Tiefenboeck|T M|TM|', 'Steiger|M|M|', 'Komjati|M|M|', 'Hofbauer|M|M|', 'Kdolsky|R|R|']
D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries D059549:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment D011126:Polypropylenes D019736:Prostheses and Implants D012086:Reoperation D012189:Retrospective Studies D013710:Tendons
ACL Kennedy Ligament Augmentation Device® Kennedy LAD® Failure rate Long term results