The assessment of portal-tract healing after knee arthroscopy

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse the pattern of portal-tract healing, to compare the healingtime of anteromedial and anterolateral portal tracts and to assess the impact of portal-tract delayedhealing on the post-operative sub-acute and chronic anterior knee tenderness.Methods: The study included 104 patients (68 males and 36 females; mean age: 49± 3.16 years (range;17e66)) who have undergone knee arthroscopy. Puncture wounds were divided into two groups, (1)anteromedial and (2) anterolateral groups. Each group contained 104 portal-tracts. Healing of portaltracts was evaluated using sequential superŞcial ultrasonographic examinaitons. Visual analogue scale(VAS) was used to measure pain related to delayed tract healing and its association with the postoperative sub-acute and chronic anterior knee tenderness.Results: Anteromedial and anterolateral tracts total healing time average values were 47 days and 28days respectively. The VAS average values of anteromedial tracts after 2 weeks, one month, three months,six months and one year were 8.2, 6.3, 4, 1.9 and 0.6 respectively, and for the anterolateral tracts 7.4, 5.5,2.8, 1.2 and 0.2 respectively. A statistical signiŞcance was detected between the two groups at the Şrstand third months with P values 0.042 and 0.0035 respectively.Conclusions: Anteromedial tracts closed later than anterolateral tracts. Both portal-tracts delayed closureis a potential for post-operative sub-acute and chronic anterior knee tenderness after arthroscopicsurgery. Four grades of tract healing were recognized. Portal-tract ultrasonography is advised inpersistent post-operative sub-acute and chronic anterior knee tenderness.Level of evidence: Level III, Therapeutic study.© 2017 Turkish Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. This isan open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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