Editorial Commentary: Fifty Is the New 30? Do Patients in Their 50s Deserve an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction?

Abstract

Evidence suggests that anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in patients older than 50 years of age has similar outcomes when compared with younger patients. However, poorer results are associated with advanced degenerative intra-articular chondral changes. The caveat here is that these conclusions are mainly based on retrospective level IV case series. The question is whether functionally unstable patients 50 years and older, whether active or not, benefit from surgical reconstruction and the answer is clearly yes. It provides restoration of function and should be considered in active older patients with subjective instability who have not responded to nonoperative treatment.