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Information about a piece of news titled Cathrine Aga defends her PhD thesis on double- vs single-bundle ACLR

Cathrine Aga defends her PhD thesis on double- vs single-bundle ACLR

Intoduction

January 25, orthopaedic surgeon Cathrine Aga will defend her PhD-thesis on "The effect of an anatomic double-bundle surgical technique on the outcome of anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions" at the University of Oslo.

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Following thousands of ACL-reconstructions, Cathrine Aga could conclude that the anatomic double-bundle ACL procedure does not contribute to a better subjective, clinical or functional result, or does show a lower risk of revision compared to the anatomic single-bundle procedure.

- After a 2-year follow-up period, we did not find a difference in KOOS QoL sub-score or in any other patient related outcome scores between the two patient groups, Cathrine added.

- Furthermore, we did not find a difference between the two groups in knee laxity measures, outcome of functional tests, the activity level or the development of osteoarthritis.

History 

The anatomic “Double-bundle” ACL reconstruction technique was developed to improve the outcome of ACL reconstructions. This procedure is both complex, expensive and requires more resources than the traditional "single-bundle" technique.

For Cathrine´s PhD-work, 62 patients with single-bundle and 54 patients with a double-bundle ACL reconstruction were prospectively followed in a randomised-controlled trial. 

The aim of the project was to assess if there were any difference in self-reported KOOS Quality of Life (QoL), between patients reconstructed with two types of technique.  

Scandinavian registry-data eligible to increase the cohort

The Knee Ligament Registers in Norway, Sweden and Denmark were used to analyse the difference in graft-revisions between the same two techniques.

A total of 1 000 double-bundles and 52 000 single-bundle reconstructions were analysed with Cox regression analysis. No difference in the risk of having a graft-revision was found between the two groups: 3.7% of the double-bundles versus 3.8% of the single-bundles were revised.

No advantages of using double-bundle ACL reconstruction 

This thesis concludes that the anatomic double-bundle ACL procedure does not contribute to a better subjective, clinical or functional result and does not show a lower risk of revision compared to the anatomic single-bundle procedure.

The double-bundle technique is both complex and expensive and should therefore not be considered as the method of choice for patients in need of an ACL reconstruction.

 

Professors Lars Engebretsen, May Arna Risberg and Stig Heir served as supervisors for Cathrine.

 

Read more about Cathrine´s projects.

 

Program for PhD-defense: January 25, 2019, GAMLE FESTSAL, Urbygningen, Karl Johans Gate 47, Oslo

Trial lecture: 1015 – 1100: "Post traumatic knee osteoarthritis, etiology and treatment strategies in the younger patient group"

PhD-defense: 1315 – 1600: "The effect of an anatomic double-bundle surgical technique on the outcome of anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions"

Committee

  • First opponent: ProfessorKristian Samuelsson, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Second opponent: Assistent professor Karl O Eriksson, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska, Sweden
  • Chair: Professor Inger Holm, University of Oslo, Norway

Trial lecture and PhD-defense will be in Norwegian and is open for public. WELCOME!