S.J.A. (Sabine) van der Graaff, PhD candidate

After I finished my masters in Medicine at the Erasmus MC in December 2019, I got the opportunity to start my PhD project at the department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. My project focuses on the optimal treatment strategy for patients with a traumatic meniscal tear or an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

Msc in Medicine Erasmus MC

My PhD project mainly focuses on the COMPARE and the STARR trial. The COMPARE trial is a randomized controlled trial that compares early ACL reconstruction to rehabilitation therapy with optional delayed reconstruction in patients with an acute rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament. I will investigate why and when patients who initially started with rehabilitation therapy eventually required reconstructive surgery. Furthermore, I will investigate whether patients in this trial developed additional meniscal injuries during the two-year follow-up period and if this differs between treatment groups. The STARR trial is a randomized controlled trial that compares conservative and operative treatment of traumatic meniscal tears in patients under the age of 45 year. During my project I will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these two treatment strategies.