Background: As the awareness towards gender-specific therapies continues to increase among all fields of medicine, so does the need for gender-sensitive evaluations of established surgical techniques. With a higher likelihood of anterior cruciate ligament injury in women, a critical assessment of the functional outcome of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction regarding patient sex is indispensable. Almost all pre-existing literature on this subject is based on anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions carried out before 2008, when 'all-inside' techniques did not exist. This implicates the need to investigate this technique towards its differences in outcome between male and female patients.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference concerning the functional outcome of an 'all-inside' technique for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in female patients when compared to a cohort of male patients matched for body mass index and age.
Design: Retrospective analysis.
Methods: All female patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using an all-inside technique between 2011 and 2012 were examined for inclusion. Functional outcome parameters investigated included the Lysholm Knee Score, International Knee Documentation Committee score, Visual Analogue Scale score and the Tegner Activity Scale. All parameters were documented before surgery and at 3-, 6-, 12- and >24 months follow-up. At 24-month follow-up, anterior-posterior knee laxity was tested using the KT-2000 arthrometer device. For comparison, an equivalent group of male patients who underwent the same procedure was matched.
Results: 27 female patients were matched with 27 male patients. The average age was 29 years, and a mean follow-up of 90 months could be achieved with 27 of patients reaching a follow-up of > 10 years. The evaluated scores showed no significant difference between female and male patients. Women presented with poorer functional outcome at 3- as well as 6-month follow-ups compared to men, without reaching statistical significance. After 12 months, no further differences could be found.
Conclusion: This study proved that an all-inside technique for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is able to produce the same functional outcome in female as in male patients at long-term follow-up. The results on short-term outcome indicate the need for further research towards gender-specific differences after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, their potential causes and potential of improvement.
Level of evidence: Level III, retrospective comparative study.
Keywords: ACL; arthroscopy; gender medicine; knee surgery; sports medicine; women’s health.