Abstract
Background:
The goal standard of the treatment is the reconstruction of ACL. However, the result is not satisfactory due to the high risk of re-rupture and early post-traumatic osteoarthritis. The emerging technique was ACL suture repair which seems to be a promising technique. However, the functional outcome of this technique compared to ACL reconstruction is still controversial. This study aimed to compare the functional outcome of ACL suture repair and ACL reconstruction to treat ACL rupture through meta-analysis and systematic review.
Method:
This was a systematic review and meta-analysis study. The systematic searching was performed using the keywords (anterior cruciate ligament suture repair) AND (anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction) in the MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and EMBASE databases. The outcomes of interest were the mean score of the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC) and the objective IKDC score. The objective IKDC score was dichotomized into favorable and unfavorable outcomes. The mean difference and risk ratios (RR) were pooled and analyzed using software Review Manager 5.3.
Result:
ACL suture repair is significantly more favorable than ACL reconstruction in terms of subjective IKDC score (MD 6.43; 95%CI 2.61 – 10.26; p = 0.001). There is no significant difference in favorable outcome (objective IKDC score) between ACL suture repair and ACL reconstruction (RR 0.94; 95%CI 0.81 – 1.10; p =0.44).
Conclusion:
ACL suture repair is superior to ACL reconstruction in regard to subjective satisfaction based on subjective IKDC score. However, we found no significant difference in objective functional outcomes.