Arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a metaanalysis comparing patellar tendon and hamstring tendon autografts.

BACKGROUND The best choice of graft tissue for use in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction has been the subject of debate. HYPOTHESIS Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with patellar tendon autograft leads to greater knee stability than reconstruction with hamstring tendon autograft. STUDY DESIGN Metaanalysis. METHODS A Medline search identified articles published from January 1966 to May 2000 describing arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with either patellar tendon or hamstring tendon autograft and with a minimum patient follow-up of 24 months. RESULTS There were 1348 patients in the patellar tendon group (21 studies) and 628 patients in the hamstring tendon group (13 studies). The rate of graft failure in the patellar tendon group was significantly lower (1.9% versus 4.9%) and a significantly higher proportion of patients in the patellar tendon group had a side-to-side difference of less than 3 mm on KT-1000 arthrometer testing than in the hamstring tendon group (79% versus 73.8%). There was a higher rate of manipulation under anesthesia or lysis of adhesions (6.3% versus 3.3%) and of anterior knee pain in the patellar tendon group (17.4% versus 11.5%) and a higher incidence of hardware removal in the hamstring tendon group (5.5% versus 3.1%). CONCLUSIONS Patellar tendon autografts had a significantly lower rate of graft failure and resulted in better static knee stability and increased patient satisfaction compared with hamstring tendon autografts. However, patellar tendon autograft reconstructions resulted in an increased rate of anterior knee pain.