Reduction plasty for hypertrophic anterior cruciate ligament mucoid degeneration: Clinical and knee laxity outcomes in 23 cases

SummaryIntroductionThe best treatment for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) mucoid degeneration remains open to debate. Current options are total or partial ACL resection, or a more conservative strategy, reduction plasty. The goal of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the effects of reduction plasty for ACL hypertrophy due to mucoid degeneration from clinical outcome and knee laxity points of view.Materials and methodsArthroscopy was carried out on 23 knees (21 patients) to perform a circular volume reduction plasty of the ACL, while preserving the greatest number of ligament fibers. Notchplasty was not performed. All the patients were seen again with an average follow-up of 32 months (range 8–70).ResultsAll the knees except three had symmetric postoperative flexion. Three patients still had pain. No patient reported having subjective feelings of instability. Among the 20 knees tested with the GNRBTM knee laxity measurement device, one knee had a 2.4 mm difference in laxity and three had between 3 and 4 mm of difference; 16 knees had no residual laxity.DiscussionTreatment of ACL mucoid degeneration by reduction plasty leads to complete pain relief in 80% of cases while maintaining good postoperative knee stability.Level of evidenceLevel IV. Retrospective study.