Suture of fresh ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament. A 5-year follow-up.

Thirty-five of 41 consecutive patients were followed for 5 years after early primary suture of the acutely torn anterior cruciate ligament and repair of all other injured structures; three early failures were excluded from the series, and three patients were lost to follow-up. Twenty-three of the patients also had an early follow-up 2 years postoperatively. From the early to the late follow-up, the function of the operated knees decreased significantly.