Degeneration of the knee joint in skeletally immature patients with a diagnosis of an anterior cruciate ligament tear: is there harm in delay of treatment?

摘要

BACKGROUND: In skeletally immature patients with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear and significant growth remaining, the risk of inducing a growth disturbance with early reconstruction must be balanced against the risk of further intra-articular damage by delaying treatment until closer to skeletal maturity. HYPOTHESIS: Increased time from injury to ACL reconstruction in children 12 weeks after the injury were noted to have a significant increase in irreparable medial meniscal tears and lateral compartment chondral injuries at the time of reconstruction. When a subjective sense of knee instability was present, this association was even stronger.