Mucoid degeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament: can platelet-rich plasma combined with reductionplasty provide better results?

Plain language summary Mucoid degeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee can cause knee pain and other symptoms. For treatment of this, partial removing of bulky ACL is generally done, which causes weakness of the ACL. Nowadays, orthobiologics such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are increasingly used in ligament surgeries to improve healing. This study used PRP to augment the weakened ACL and followed patients for 1 year to assess outcomes. The results found improved functional scores and pain scores compared with preoperative levels. As this improvement might not be entirely due to PRP, high-end comparative studies are needed to confirm its efficacy. Introduction: Mucoid degeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is commonly treated with arthroscopic debridement of the ACL. But many studies have reported the weakening and laxity of ACL postoperatively and on follow-up. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is known to influence musculoskeletal healing through multiple growth factors. Methodology: Five patients who were diagnosed as a case of mucoid degeneration of the ACL based on MRI, over a period of 1 year (December 2018-2019), were included in the study. Autologous PRP, prepared by double spin protocol, was injected into the remaining ACL after partial debridement was done. Results: Visual analogue scale and Lysholm scores improved compared with preoperative scores, along with strength (anterior drawer test and Lachman test). Conclusion: PRP can be used to improve the healing and strength of a weakened ACL after partial debridement, but further research is needed to demonstrate its efficacy.