Is a Partial Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear Truly Partial? A Clinical, Arthroscopic, and Histologic Investigation.

Purpose: (1) To determine whether examination under anesthesia (EUA) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an accurate means for determining patient selection for a selective-bundle reconstruction, (2) to determine whether the preoperative clinical assessment correlates with the arthroscopic examination, and (3) to examine histologically whether a partial anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is truly partial in terms of vascular insult.

Methods: This prospective, nonrandomized cohort study included 95 patients who underwent primary ACL reconstruction from January 2013 through May 2014. All patients underwent an EUA, MRI, and arthroscopic evaluation.