Total knee arthroplasty after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common, and many of these patients go on to ACL reconstruction. At a later date, some may develop symptomatic osteoarthritis and require total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This raises the question: Does prior ACL reconstruction have a deleterious impact on the outcome of knee arthroplasty? Thirty-six cases of patients who underwent ACL reconstruction and then TKA at a later date were retrospectively reviewed. A cohort of patients without ACL injuries who underwent TKA for the diagnosis of primary osteoarthritis were selected to serve as controls. The results of this study demonstrate that previous ACL reconstruction does not have a negative impact on the outcome of future TKA with respect to range of motion, outcome scores, infection, or patella baja.