High Failure Rate for Electrothermal Shrinkage of the Lax Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Multicenter Follow-up Past 2 Years

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the midterm results (beyond 2 years) of thermal shrinkage on both lax native anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and lax reconstructions and determine the effectiveness of this procedure. Methods: This is a multicenter study in which 64 patients from 2 sites underwent electrothermal shrinkage for a lax ACL, both native and previous reconstructions. They were followed up past 2 years with KT-1000 measurements (MEDmetric, San Diego, CA). Failure criteria included subsequent operations for instability or KT-1000 measurements greater than 5 mm. Three patients were lost to follow-up. Results: Among the 61 patients followed up past 2 years, failure occurred in 31 (50.8%). The failure rate for lax grafts alone was 78.9%, and there was a failure rate of 38.1% for lax native ligaments. Conclusions: Electrothermal shrinkage of lax native or reconstructed ACLs is not an appropriate treatment. Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic case series.