2009 Annual Meeting Poster Presentations
Effect of ACL reconstruction and meniscectomy on career length in NFL athletes: a case control study
Poster Presentation Number: P406 Location: Venetian/Sands EXPO Hall DSports Medicine/Arthroscopy
Corey S Gill, MD Saint Louis MOStephen Lyman, PhD New York NY
Ronnie P Barnes East Rutherford NJ
Scott Alan Rodeo, MD New York NY
Russell F Warren, MD New York NY
Robert H Brophy, MD Saint Louis MO
Meniscectomy shortens the career of a professional football player; ACL reconstruction does not. ACL reconstruction and meniscectomy may shorten an athletes career more than either surgery alone.
Meniscal and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, and surgical treatment of these injuries, are common in college football athletes. The effect of meniscectomy and/or ACL surgery during college on the length of an athlete's career in the National Football League (NFL) has not been well examined. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that athletes with a history of meniscectomy or ACL surgery prior to the NFL combine have a shorter career than matched controls.
A database containing the injury history and career NFL statistics of athletes from 1987-2000 was used to match athletes with a history of meniscectomy and/or ACL surgery to controls without a history of any previous surgery. Athletes were matched by position, year drafted, round drafted, and additional injury history.
A total of 54 athletes with a history of meniscectomy, 29 with a history of ACL reconstruction, and 11 with a history of both ACL reconstruction and meniscectomy were identified and matched with controls. A history of isolated meniscectomy significantly reduced the length of career in terms of years (5.6 vs 7.0, p = 0.03) and games played (62 vs. 85, p=0.02) compared to controls. Isolated ACL surgery did not significantly reduce the length of career in years or number of games played in this cohort. Athletes with a history of ACL reconstruction and meniscectomy did have a shorter career than their controls in terms of years (4.0 vs. 6.1) and games played (41 vs. 73) but the difference was not significant in this relatively small sample of 11 athletes. Comparing the athletes with meniscectomy or ACL reconstruction to athletes with combined ACL reconstruction and meniscectomy, a history of both surgeries resulted in a shorter career in terms of games started (7.9 vs. 35.1, p<0.01), games played (41 vs. 63, p=0.07) and years in the league (4.0 vs. 5.8, p=0.08) than a history of either surgery alone.
Meniscectomy shortens the expected career of a professional football player whereas ACL reconstruction does not appear to have the same effect. A combination of ACL reconstruction and meniscectomy may be more detrimental to an athlete's durability than either surgery alone. Further research is warranted to better understand how these injuries and surgeries impact an athlete's career, and what can be done to improve the long term outcome after treatment.
A · to the left of the title indicates the FDA has not cleared the drug or device for the described purpose.
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