Knee ligament injury, surgery and osteoarthrosis. Truth or consequences?

We reviewed reports that describe development of osteoarthrosis of the knee after anterior cruciate ligament or meniscus injury. The occurrence of posttraumatic osteoarthrosis varied considerably from one report to another. The literature does not lend support to the efficacy of cruciate ligament repair or reconstruction in retarding the progression of osteoarthrosis after knee injury. We encourage prospective, controlled, randomized and masked studies that aim to evaluate the utility of ligament reconstruction, meniscus suture or meniscus transplantation for preventing posttraumatic osteoarthrosis.