After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery, Variables Associated With Returning to the Same Surgeon If a Subsequent Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery Is Needed?
2024

Factors Influencing Patients' Choice of Surgeon After ACL Surgery

Sample size: 63582 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Halperin Scott J., Dhodapkar Meera M., McLaughlin William M., Santos Estevao, Medvecky Michael J., Grauer Jonathan N.

Primary Institution: Yale School of Medicine

Hypothesis

What factors are associated with patients returning to the same surgeon for subsequent ACL surgery?

Conclusion

Over half of the patients who required a subsequent ACL reconstruction changed surgeons, influenced by adverse events and time to surgery.

Supporting Evidence

  • 4.4% of ACL reconstruction patients required a subsequent surgery.
  • 47.1% returned to the same surgeon for the second surgery.
  • Changing surgeons was associated with 90-day adverse events after the first surgery.
  • Longer time to second surgery increased the likelihood of changing surgeons.

Takeaway

Many people who need another knee surgery choose a different doctor, especially if they had problems with their first surgery or waited a long time for the next one.

Methodology

Data was abstracted from the PearlDiver database for patients who underwent ACL reconstruction and had a subsequent surgery within 3 years.

Potential Biases

Potential biases due to the retrospective nature and lack of detailed patient-specific factors.

Limitations

The study is retrospective and relies on the accuracy of administrative data.

Participant Demographics

Patients who underwent ACL reconstruction, with a mix of ages and insurance plans.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.0026

Confidence Interval

1.06 (0.96–1.16)

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.5435/JAAOSGlobal-D-24-00349

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