Iyer, Sanathan

Purpose To compare clinical and functional outcomes (including range of motion, clinical laxity, reoperation/revision rates, and patient‐reported outcome measures) of combined anterior cruciate ligament/posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR/PCLR) with and without suture tape (ST) augmentation via a propensity‐matched cohort analysis. Methods A retrospective review was performed to identify all patients who underwent simultaneous primary ACLR/PCLR between 2001 and 2022. A 1:1 propensity match was performed using patient sex, Schenck classification grade, age ±8 years, and body mass index ±10 to produce 2 cohorts: ACLR/PCLR with and without (control) ST augmentation. Clinical outcomes (visual analog scale [VAS], range of motion, Tegner activity scale, Lysholm score, and International Knee Documentation Committee subjective score) were analyzed. Results The propensity match produced a final cohort of 50 ACLR/PCLR patients: 25 with ST augmentation and 25 nonaugmented controls. Most patients had a KD3M injury (12 in each cohort), and no significant differences were noted in concomitant neurovascular, meniscal, or chondral injuries between the groups. Forty patients (80%) completed follow‐up at a mean of 4.7 years for the ST cohort and 8.5 years for the control cohort ( P > .05). Postoperative ST versus control values for outcome measures including VAS at rest (0.9 vs 1.5; P = .71), VAS with use (3.0 vs 2.2; P = .24), International Knee Documentation Committee (75.7 vs 76.3; P = .37), Lysholm (81.8 vs 77.6; P = .91), and Tegner activity (4.8 vs 5.4; P = .37) scores showed no differences ( P > .05 for all). There were no differences in excessive postoperative clinical laxity between ST and control cohorts (ST n = 1 vs control n = 2, Lachman 2+, P = .140; ST n = 3 vs control n = 1, posterior drawer 2+, P = .122). The total number of patients who underwent reoperation was 7 of 25 (28%) for the ST cohort and 8 of 25 (32%) for the control cohort ( P = .76). Conclusions Concomitant ACLR/PCLR utilizing ST augmentation showed similarly satisfactory postoperative clinical outcomes at a minimum 2‐year follow‐up compared to a matched cohort without ST. The use of an independent ST did not limit motion or increase the incidence of complications or revision surgery. Level of Evidence Level III, retrospective comparative case series.