Anterior cruciate ligament injuries treated with quadriceps tendon autograft versus hamstring autograft: A randomized controlled trial

Background

One of the most common grafts used to repair anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is the hamstring tendon (HT) autograft. However, another proposed option to repair the ACL is the quadriceps tendon (QT) autograft. This study aimed to compare the pain and clinical results between patients with ACL injury treated with QT autograft and with HT autograft.

Materials and methods

The Ethics and Investigation Committee of our institution approved the study. The patients were randomized into two groups: one group was treated with QT autograft and the other group was treated with HT autograft. The patients were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively using the Lysholm-Tegner score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation Form, and visual analog scale (VAS), at 2 weeks and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.

Results

A total of 28 patients with a primary ACL injury were included in the study. No significant differences in VAS pain, Lysholm knee and Tegner activity scale scores, and IKDC score between the HT and QT groups were observed at any time point. All patients had favorable outcomes and significantly improved evaluation scores.

Conclusion

The patients treated with QT autograft had clinical results and post-operative pain similar to those of patients treated with HT autograft for ACL reconstruction.

Preoperative prediction of autologous hamstring graft diameter in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Currently, there is no stablished pre-operative model that helps the orthopaedic surgeon predict the final graft diameter in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a correlation between semitendinosus (ST) and gracilis (GT) cross-sectional area (CSA) evaluated pre-operatively in mm² using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the final intra-operative ST-GT autograft diameter in mm².

METHODS

A retrospective study was designed, 89 patients undergoing ACLR with hamstring autograft participated. We analysed ST-CSA (mm²) and GT-CSA (mm²) using pre-operative MRI, intra-operative autograft diameter, age, sex, side of the injury, weight, height and body mass index (BMI).

RESULTS

A moderate-strong correlation was identified between final autograft diameter and ST-GT CSA in MRI (Pearson correlation coefficient .6911 P<.001). We observed that, if the combination of ST-CSA and GT-STA is at least 19mm², the probability of obtaining an autograft with a diameter greater than or equal to 8mm is 91.8% or more. The ROC curve analysis demonstrated, in this model, that this predictive method on MRI correctly discriminates in over 95.6% of cases between achieving or otherwise an autograft greater than or equal to 8mm during surgery. Intra and interobserver concordance of the MRI measurements were excellent, as shown in the intraobserver intraclass correlation coefficient (CCI) of .79 and the interobserver CCI of .84 and .77 for the ST and GT respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative determinations of ST-CSA and GT-CSA (mm²) using MRI correlate with the final autograft diameter. This method represents a reliable and reproducible model to predict the hamstring autograft diameter in ACLR.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Retrospective cohort study, level IV.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

A review of the available literature reveals a higher risk of ACL failure or re-rupture if the graft is smaller than 8mm in diameter. Despite being an important factor there is no established pre-operative model that predicts the final graft diameter. Knowing beforehand the possibilities of obtaining a hamstring autograft with a diameter greater than or equal to 8mm would help the orthopaedic surgeon to better plan the surgery and to anticipate the need for other graft options (such as bone-patellar-tendon-bone autograft or allografts, amongst other alternatives).

Can we predict the graft diameter for autologous hamstring in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction?

To achieve in the reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament a graft with strength, tension and low comorbidity is fundamental. An emerging concept is that a graft diameter of less than 7mm carries a greater risk of re-rupture and instability. Consequently, different methods are being sought to predict intra-surgical size. The objective is to predict the size of the hamstring graft by measuring the area of the semitendinous and gracilis tendon with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

METHODOLOGY

We carried out an observational retrospective study of 56 patients. They underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with 4-GST hamstring graft. The parameters evaluated were anthropometric data, hamstring graft diameter, area of gracilis and semitendinosus tendon in MRI. The measurements were made by three independent evaluators.

RESULTS

The mean diameter of the intrasurgical graft was 8.46mm, in the MRI the area of the gracilis was 8,875mm and the semitendinosus area was 13,068mm. Their mean was 22.12 for the automatic measurement and 21.53 for the manual measurement. The interobserver correlation was regular for the automatic measurement (ICC = 0.595) and low for the manual measurement (ICC = 0.446). The result of the intraobserver correlation was excellent (ICC = 0.917). We did not obtain a statistical correlation between the measurement of areas and the increase of the graft diameter (R = 0.069, P = .63).

CONCLUSION

We determined with our results that the intrasurgical graft size is not predictable with the measurement of the area of the gracilis and semitendinosus tendon on the MRI.

Tibial tunnel widening associated with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using autogenous hamstrings: A comparison between antero-medial portal and transtibial techniques

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate the enlargement effect of the tibial tunnel emergence of 2 different of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction techniques: antero-medial portal (AMP) vs. transtibial (TT) technique.

METHODS

A prospective, randomized controlled study was performed in 36 consecutive patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with autologous hamstring tendon grafts employing the AMP and conventional TT techniques. Lateral and antero-posterior radiographs were obtained for each patient at 6 weeks and 12 months postoperatively. The sclerotic margins of the tibial tunnels were measured at the widest dimension of the tunnel as well as the diameter of the tibial emergence and were compared with the initially drilled tunnel size after correction for radiographic magnification. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the 2 groups by use of the independent-samples t test, with significance set at .05.

RESULTS

The mean percentage increase in the diameter of tibial tunnel emergence at 6 weeks after surgery was 8.1%±2.9 for the PAM technique and 21.20%±11.87 for the TT technique on the anteroposterior x-ray view. However, the mean percentage increase in the diameter of the tibial tunnel emergence on the lateral view was 7.1%±4.72 for the medial portal technique and 17.64%±11.48 for the transtibial technique. This difference was statistically significant on both anteroposterior and lateral views.

CONCLUSIONS

The diameter of the tibial tunnel emergence for hamstring autologous anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions was significantly lower for the medial portal technique when compared with the conventional TT technique.