Failure of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction following calcification of the graft.

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is a commonplace orthopaedic procedure. It is most commonly performed using an autologous bone-patella tendon-bone graft, although other donor sites are also used. Failure of the graft can occur for a variety of reasons. We describe here failure of such an ACL reconstruction in a young man secondary to ectopic calcification of the graft, which led to excessive rigidity and its subsequent avulsion from the proximal attachment. This case illustrates the benefits of being able to reconstruct the ACL by more than one technique, which can be used if another method fails.