Timing of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction and Incidence of Meniscal and Chondral Injury within the Knee

BACKGROUND To review a single-surgeon series of 616 athletic patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions in order to evaluate the relationship between the timing of the reconstruction and the incidence of meniscal and chondral injuries. METHODS SIX GROUP OF PATIENTS WERE CATEGORIZED BASED ON THE TIME INTERVAL FROM THEIR INJURY TO SURGERY IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER: <3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, 9-18 months, 18-36 months, and >36 months. The presence of meniscal tears was documented and chondral pathology was scored based on the Outerbridge classification. RESULTS Incidence of medial meniscus tear was significantly higher in patients undergoing reconstruction after 3 months from their injury (P = 0.032). The opportunity of patients with chondral pathology was recorded to be significantly higher in the groups operated on after 6 months from their injuries time (P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS Considering the effect of time on the rate of having meniscus injury and chondral pathology, reducing the time between the injury and surgery could improve the long-term health outcomes in this population.