A Simple Magnetic Resonance Scoring System for Predicting Suitability for Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair

Objective: This study developed a simple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scoring method to assess the suitability of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) remnant for primary repair and aimed to test the success of this scoring method on operative images of patients undergoing early ACL surgery.

Methods: The video-recorded operative images of patients who underwent ACL reconstruction and the MRI images of the same patients taken in our hospital were retrieved from the hospital archive. Two surgeons evaluated whether the ACL could be primarily repaired on the video images recorded during the operation. Magnetic resonance primary repairability (MPR) scores and repairability status on video images were compared.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 30.4 ± 8.6 years. The evaluation of remnant size on MRI showed moderate agreement between observers (P < .001, Cohen’s kappa=0.605). The assessment of the repairability score based on MRI and video observation demonstrated substantial agreement between observers (P < .001, Cohen’s kappa=0.743 and P < .001, Cohen’s kappa=0.762, respectively).

Conclusion: The MR primary repairability score (MPR score) is suitable for use in the decision-making process for the primary repair of the ACL.

Cite this article as: Kızılay YO, Erdoğmuş Gülcan S, Yılmaz HB, Yalçın G. A simple magnetic resonance scoring system for predicting suitability for primary anterior cruciate ligament repair. Arch Basic Clin Res. 2024;6(3):159-164.