The incidence of acute patellar tendon harvest complications for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

PURPOSE This study was performed to determine the incidence of acute bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft harvest complications after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. METHODS Over a nearly 20-year period (September 1986 to April 2006), 1,725 consecutive patients underwent primary ACL reconstruction using bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft by 3 fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons at our institution. Three acute complications related to patellar tendon harvest were identified from surgical databases, and the charts of these patients were reviewed. RESULTS In this series of 1,725 consecutive patients, 3 acute complications (0.2%) related to patellar tendon harvest were noted. These complications consisted of 2 patellar fractures (1 intraoperative and 1 postoperative) and 1 postoperative patellar tendon rupture. All 3 patients healed and went on to satisfactory outcomes. CONCLUSIONS A 0.2% overall acute complication rate related to patellar tendon harvest for primary ACL reconstruction supported our hypothesis. Bone-patella tendon-bone autograft remains a safe and viable choice for surgeons performing ACL reconstruction. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level IV, therapeutic case series.