OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the presence of pain at the site of the surgical incision and the need to remove the tibial fixation screw after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in relation to sex and body mass index (BMI). METHODS: A group of 265 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction with ipsilateral flexor tendon grafts from the thigh using a screw and washer as the tibial fixation technique between July 2000 and November 2007 . RESULTS: 176 patients were evaluated for an average of 33.3 ± 19.5 months (median of 29.5 months) (IIQ: 17- 45 months) - minimum of 8 and maximum of 87 months. There was no statistical difference found upon analyzing complaints of pain at the site of the screw (p=0.272) and the need to remove the tibial screw (p=0.633) between sexes. No statistical differences were found concerning complaints of pain at the site of the screw (p=0.08) and the need to remove the tibial screw (p=0.379) according to BMI. CONCLUSION: The screw and metallic washer tibial method used for tibial fixation showed an incidence of pain complaints of 25%, and the need for its removal in 10.8% of the cases. There was no prevalence of complaints of pain at the surgical wound between the sexes. There was a greater tendency to complain about pain among patients with BMI<25. There was no predominance of removal of the screw and washer between the sexes and individuals with different BMIs.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament; Arthroscopy; Body mass index; Pain
