The Incidence of Acute Patellar Tendon Harvest Complications for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Purpose: This study was performed to determine the incidence of acute bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft harvest complications after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Methods: Over a nearly 20-year period (September 1986 to April 2006), 1,725 consecutive patients underwent primary ACL reconstruction using bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft by 3 fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeons at our institution. Three acute complications related to patellar tendon harvest were identified from surgical databases, and the charts of these patients were reviewed. Results: In this series of 1,725 consecutive patients, 3 acute complications (0.2%) related to patellar tendon harvest were noted. These complications consisted of 2 patellar fractures (1 intraoperative and 1 postoperative) and 1 postoperative patellar tendon rupture. All 3 patients healed and went on to satisfactory outcomes. Conclusions: A 0.2% overall acute complication rate related to patellar tendon harvest for primary ACL reconstruction supported our hypothesis. Bone-patella tendon-bone autograft remains a safe and viable choice for surgeons performing ACL reconstruction. Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic case series.