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Objectives: This study aims to compare the clinical outcome and possible complications of augmentation technique and standard reconstruction for the treatment of partial anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears., Patients and Methods: Forty patients (36 males, 4 females; mean age 30 years; range 19 to 40 years) who underwent surgery due to ACL tear were included in this prospective randomized study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups, including 20 patients in each group. The patients in the group 1 underwent standard single bundle ACL reconstruction with hamstring tendon autografts, while those in the group 2 underwent augmentation where the remaining remnant ACL was not sacrificed, but instead augmented with hamstring tendon autograft as in the standard reconstruction technique. The mean follow-up was 24.3 months (range; 21-28 months). Clinical outcomes were evaluated using International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Lysholm scores, physical instability tests and patient satisfaction questionnaires. The complication rates of both groups were compared. Tibial and femoral tunnel widening were assessed using lateral and anteroposterior radiographs., Results: No significant differences were found between the groups in terms of IKDC, Lysholm scores, physical instability tests, patient satisfaction questionnaires and incidences of Cyclops lesions and arthrofibrosis. Tibial and femoral tunnel widening was less in the augmentation group. This difference was more significant on the tibial side., Conclusion: In the repair of partial ACL tears, augmentation technique is as effective as the standard technique, leading to, less tunnel widening evidently in the tibial tunnel, particularly.

Objective: Unreconstructed anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears cause repeated incidences of giving-way and rotational-translational instability. The aim of this study was to test our hypothesis that delayed surgical treatment of patients with ACL tears, especially those with high Tegner activity levels, results in more severe and complicated meniscal and osteochondral lesions with potential affect on the outcome., Methods: This study included 385 patients who underwent arthroscopic ACL reconstruction between 2001 and 2009. Patients arthroscopic video records or MRI scans and patient files at the time of surgery were analyzed. We defined severe meniscal and osteochondral lesions which could negatively affect the outcome and labeled them meniscal lesions affecting outcome (MLAO) and osteochondral lesions affecting outcome (OLAO). The relation between MLAO, OLAO, time since injury and Tegner activity levels were statistically analyzed., Results: The incidences of MLAO and OLAO grew statistically higher as time elapsed between the injury and surgery increased (p=0.001, p<0.05; p=0.001, p<0.05). The relation between the Tegner activity score, MLAO and OLAO risk were found to be statistically insignificant (p=0.317, p=0.184, p>0.05)., Conclusion: Delays in ACL reconstruction surgery result in an increase in the incidence of meniscal and osteochondral lesions which have the potential to negatively affect the surgical outcome.