The patellar tendon donor site of 20 patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL) reconstruction using the patellar tendon tissue as autograft was examined with
high resolution 7.5 MHz ultrasound. The patients were randomly divided into four groups
and studied at 3, 6, 9, or 12 months postoperatively. The size of the postoperative
tendon defect was measured just distal to the lower pole of the patella. The size
of the tendon defect diminished progressively from a mean of 109 mm2 at 3 months to a mean of 23 mm2 at 12 months. Increasing echogenicity was first noticed 12 months after tendon repair.
Seven patients developed clinical features postoperatively of jumper’s knee (patellar
tendinosis). There were no ultrasound signs that differentiated these patients from
asymptomatic patients. It is concluded that ultrasound provides objective evidence
of patellar tendon healing after ACL reconstruction: the surgical defect diminished
in size and became echogenic after a period of 12 months.
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Publication history
Austral Radiol 1998;42:28–32
Identification
Copyright
© 1998 Published by Elsevier Inc.
