Polymers in Medicine

Polim. Med.
Scopus CiteScore: 3.5 (CiteScore Tracker 3.6)
Index Copernicus (ICV 2023) – 121.14
MEiN – 70
ISSN 0370-0747 (print)
ISSN 2451-2699 (online) 
Periodicity – biannual

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Polymers in Medicine

2016, vol. 46, nr 2, July-December, p. 155–161

doi: 10.17219/pim/68646

Publication type: original article

Language: English

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Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 Open Access

Postoperative Knee Joint Stability Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Using the Ligament Advanced Reinforcement System

Sebastian Krupa1,A,B,C,D,E,F, Aleksandra Królikowska2,B,C,E,F, Paweł Reichert3,A,B,C,E,F

1 The Center of Rehabilitation and Medical Education, Wrocław, Poland

2 The College of Physiotherapy, Wrocław, Poland

3 Department and Clinic of Traumatology and Hand Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland

Abstract

Background. One of the goals of the synthetic materials used in knee joint reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is to improve the strength and stability of the graft immediately after the reconstruction. One of the synthetic grafts is a non-absorbable synthetic ligament device made of terephthalic polyethylene polyester fibers, the Ligament Advanced Reinforcement System (LARS).
Objectives. The aim of the study was to assess postoperative knee joint stability in patients who had undergone ACL reconstruction using the LARS graft.
Material and Methods. The study group was comprised of 20 males who had undergone primary unilateral intraarticular ACL reconstruction using LARS. The patients were evaluated one day before the reconstruction and an average of six weeks postoperatively. Knee stability was evaluated manually using the Lachman test, anterior drawer test and pivot-shift test. Knee active range of motion (ROM) was measured.
Results. Preoperatively, the Lachman test indicated abnormal/2+ results in the vast majority of the patients. The postoperative results in most of the patients were normal/0. The anterior drawer test results were also abnormal/2+ preoperatively and normal/0 postoperatively. The pivot-shift test was positive in all of the patients before the ACL reconstruction and negative after the surgery. In general, no differences were found in the ROM between the involved and uninvolved limbs and in the between-measurement comparison.
Conclusion. The evaluation demonstrated significant progress from the preoperative to postoperative results in reducing anterior translation and anterolateral rotational instability of the tibia in patients who had undergone ACL reconstruction using the synthetic LARS graft. In the short-term follow-up assessments, restoration of anterior and anterolateral rotational stability of the operated knee joints was observed.

Key words

Lachman test, LARS, pivot-shift test, synthetic graft, terephthalic polyethylene polyester

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