BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common in pediatric and adolescent patients. Understanding this population's injury characteristics and treatment strategies is vital for managing this high-risk group. PURPOSE: To report the descriptive epidemiology and treatment strategies of a large cohort of skeletally immature patients with complete ACL tears. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study
Level of evidence, 2. METHODS: Consecutive skeletally immature patients diagnosed with complete ACL tears were enrolled at 10 institutions across the United States. Treatment was provided by 1 of 23 participating orthopaedic surgeons. Patient characteristics (chronological and skeletal age, sex, race, and ethnicity) as well as anthropometric measures, mechanism of injury, and ACL treatment type were collected. RESULTS: A total of 749 skeletally immature participants were included in the final cohort
the mean chronological age was 12.9 years, and 62% were male. The mean skeletal age (13.2 years) was a mean of 0.34 years (4 months) higher than the mean chronological age ( CONCLUSION: Almost all skeletally immature patients with ACL tears were injured during sports, surgical treatment was overwhelmingly the treatment of choice, and preferred surgical techniques varied based on skeletal ages.