Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction complications (overview)

Last revised by Mostafa El-Feky on 25 Dec 2022

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Knipe H, El-Feky M, Alsmair A, et al. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction complications (overview). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 03 Dec 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-72408

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-72408

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/72408

rID:

72408

Article created:

23 Nov 2019, Henry Knipe ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.

View Henry Knipe's current disclosures

Last revised:

25 Dec 2022, Mostafa El-Feky ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Mostafa El-Feky had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View Mostafa El-Feky's current disclosures

Revisions:

10 times, by 4 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Musculoskeletal

Tags:

cases

Synonyms:

ACL graft complications
ACL repair complications
Anterior cruciate ligament graft complications
ACL reconstruction complications

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction complications are common, occurring in 10-25% of patients.

decreased range of motion
- graft impingement
- arthrofibrosis
  - cyclops lesion
- intra-articular body
- femoral or tibial tunnel cyst
post-operative laxity: occurs in 1-8% of patients ³
- graft stretching
- graft rupture
miscellaneous
- fixation material complication, e.g. migration, displacement, fragmentation
- inflammatory reaction / rejection
- tunnel osteolysis defined as tunnel widening >14 mm: may require two-stage revision ACL reconstruction ⁵
- septic arthritis: ~0.5% (range 0.1-0.9%)
- retractile capsulitis
- iliotibial band syndrome
- donor tendon complications, e.g. rupture, shortening
- vascular complications: inferior geniculate artery pseudoaneurysms have been reported at donor tendon sites