Double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and anterolateral ligament reconstruction with suture tape augmentation offers satisfactory 2-year clinical functional scores between single-bundle ACLR and double-bundle ACLR with more lateral knee tightness.

BACKGROUND: Single-bundle (SB) anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), double-bundle (DB) ACLR, and DB ACLR combined with anterolateral ligament reconstruction (DB ACLR and ALLR) have been developed to address ACL tears. We hypothesized that these three techniques provide satisfactory results for patients with ACL tears, with the DB ACL and ALLR group having more lateral knee discomfort. METHODS: 167 patients were retrospectively divided into three groups: SB ACLR, DB ACLR, and DB ACLR and ALLR. Postoperative evaluations were conducted via telephone interviews and in-person consultations using the Tegner and Lysholm scores. RESULTS: The mean follow-up time was 27.7 ± 4.4 months in the SB ACLR group, 25.5 ± 3.2 months in the DB ACLR group, and 28.1 ± 3.6 months in the DB ACLR and ALLR group (P = 0.044). For Lysholm score, the DB ACLR and ALLR group (n = 55) was 92.3 ± 7.0, the DB ACLR group (n = 21) was 92.4 ± 6.6, and the SB ACLR group (n = 91) was 92.5 ± 10.2 (P = 0.995). For the Tegner score, the DB ACLR and ALLR group was 4.5 ± 2.2, the DB ACLR group was 5.0 ± 1.6, and the SB ACLR group was 4.4 ± 1.7 (P = 0.378). In the DB ACLR and ALLR group, 10 of the 55 (18.2%) patients exhibited symptoms in the lateral knee. CONCLUSIONS: SB ACLR, DB ACLR, and DB ACLR and ALLR with suture tape augmentation procedures yielded comparable clinical functional scores. While lateral knee symptoms were observed in patients receiving DB ACLR and ALLR with suture tape augmentation, these symptoms did not significantly influence the functional outcome.