Pain after use of the central third of the patellar tendon for cruciate ligament reconstruction. 33 patients followed 2-3 years.

We performed reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament in 33 patients using the central third of the patellar tendon. In 20 patients we did an arthroscopically-assisted procedure, while 13 patients had an additional mini-arthrotomy through the gap in the patellar tendon. After 2-3 years the subjective knee function, according to the Lysholm score, was excellent or good in 18 knees and fair or poor in 15 knees, mainly due to anterior knee pain. Although 18 patients complained about anterior knee pain, only 1 patient required further surgery. After the operation the patella had a lower position. A flexion contracture was found in 7 patients, and 13 had heterotopic bone formation at the apex of the patella. Although stability was restored in 31 of the 33 reconstructed knees, anterior knee pain was a frequent complication. There were no correlations between the anterior knee pain and patellar height, flexion contracture or heterotopic bone formation.