Purpose
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are increasing in children and adolescents and reconstruction (ACLR) is now frequently performed in this population. Paediatric patients remain at higher risk of reinjury, possibly due to delayed graft remodelling. The current study aims to compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based graft remodelling between paediatric and adult populations at 1 year postoperatively.
Methods
We conducted a single-centre comparative pilot study including a prospectively collected cohort of 52 paediatric and 59 adult patients undergoing ACLR with a semitendinosus autograft folded in four (ST4) without additional lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET). MRI was performed at 12 months postoperatively. Graft maturation was assessed using the signal-to-noise quotient (SNQ) and Howell scores. Tibial tunnel widening (TTW) and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were also collected.
Results
The mean adjusted SNQ was significantly higher (p
