ABSTRACT
Deficiency of the anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] is a common disorder which can lead to changes in Iifestyle [1]. We followed 32 patients who had arthroscopic reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament using a central-third of patelIer- tendon autograft and interference screws fixation for 2 years to assess the results of reconstruction of the ACL with the use of this technique. Our patients were 26 males and 6 females with an average age of 26 years [range 19 - 46 years], the average time between injury and operation was 13 weeks [range 3-24 weeks]. The data that were analysed included the mechanism of injury, the interval between injury and operation, the pre-operative subjective findings, the clinical examination included bilateral assessment of the range of motion, Lachman and Pivot shift tests, and information obtained with use of the knee rating scale of Lysholm and Gillquist. At the latest folIow-up evaluation of 2 years the mean Lysholm and Gillquist score increased from a mean of 60 points pre-operatively to a mean of 92 points post-operatively. All of our patients were satisfied with the results of the operation except one patient [3%] who was complaining of recurrent attacks of anterior knee pain and effusion. There were no infection in any of our patients