Project description:Bone tunnel creation in the anatomical location is essential in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with an autogenous graft and is commonly performed with a drill bit matched to graft diameter. Anatomic rectangular tunnel ACL reconstruction with a bone–patellar tendon–bone autograft has been developed to anatomically create bone tunnels inside the ACL footprints and has been reported to achieve excellent outcomes. To make the rectangular tunnel, the surgeon needs to dilate 2 adjacent bone tunnels after creation of 2 round tunnels with a drill bit, while the tunnel wall occasionally cracks during dilating. An ultrasonic (US) device was developed with improvement of output power and has been implemented with a rectangular shape blade in the field of arthroscopic surgery. This US device can provide a precise and effective bone cut compared to drills. We introduced this device to clinically create a rectangular tunnel during ACL reconstruction. The US device can be useful for rectangular femoral tunnel creation and can create a precise rectangular femoral tunnel in the ACL footprint. Technique Video Video 1 Rectangular femoral tunnel creation with the ultrasonic device.
Project description:Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with preservation of either the remnant or the tibial stump is performed with the hope of improving the vascularization and proprioceptive function of the graft. Remnant preservation is technically difficult because it hinders the visualization of the intra-articular tunnel site. Taking a cue from the concept of tibial stump preservation, we have modified our ACL reconstruction technique to preserve a sleeve of the soft tissue and ACL stump attached to the femoral condyle, in addition to tibial stump preservation, while still allowing adequate visualization of the femoral ACL insertion site. We describe our modification in this article and hypothesize that this should further improve graft vascularization and ligamentization.
Project description:Fixation of the graft during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery has been the subject of numerous technical innovations but still remains a challenge. This article describes a novel technique of graft fixation for hamstring tendon reconstruction: the Cage For One system (Sacimex, Aix-en-Provence, France). The technique uses only the semitendinosus tendon, which is looped to create a 4-strand graft. Leaving the gracilis tendon intact probably reduces the loss of knee flexion strength. The graft is indirectly anchored into both tunnels with polyetheretherketone cages by use of polyethylene terephthalate tape strips. Both cages and strips are magnetic resonance imaging compatible and do not create artifacts. The tunnels are drilled by an outside-in method with minimal incisions. This type of fixation creates a 360° bone contact at 1.5 cm in each tunnel and is compatible with double-bundle reconstruction. This easy-to-use novel technique of fixation for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction produces a strong 4-strand graft while harvesting only the semitendinosus tendon and leaving the gracilis tendon intact to reduce flexion strength loss and preserve rotatory stability of the knee. It creates an immediate solid fixation that is independent of graft integration in the early postoperative period, allowing the patient to start immediate rehabilitation without the use of a brace.
Project description:Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are increasingly frequent in skeletally immature patients. However, treatment within this subpopulation remains controversial. Conventional transphyseal reconstruction techniques have been questioned because of potential physeal injuries. Conservative treatment, on the other hand, may lead to degenerative meniscal and chondral lesions. This Technical Note describes the femoral physeal-sparing over-the-top technique using an iliotibial band. It is a safe and effective method for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in skeletally immature patients.
Project description:Recent literature has led some surgeons to drill the femoral tunnel in an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction through an accessory anteromedial portal. Several techniques have been reported for the safe, effective drilling of the femoral tunnel by this approach. This technical note presents a new "retrograde technique" in which all instruments are passed independently into the notch and across the medial compartment. This technique is safe and reproducible and allows for meticulous evaluation and creation of the femoral tunnel(s) while minimizing steps.
Project description:We established a technique for femoral tunnel preparation through direct vision of the femoral footprint with maximum preservation to the native anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) remnant using a posterior trans-septal portal. Anterior arthroscopy is difficult for the proper tunnel placement without sacrificing the ACL remnant. Posterior arthroscopy could be helpful for viewing the posterior insertion of the ACL remnant that provides excellent femoral footprint exposure without sacrificing the native ACL remnant. Therefore, a posterolateral portal technique using a 70° arthroscope through a posterolateral portal is introduced. However, using the 70° arthroscope, an oblique view is displayed and distorted view could be seen. Therefore, to achieve the goal of posterior arthroscopy and avoid obstacles of the posterolateral view with the 70° arthroscope, we introduce this technique that uses the posterior trans-septal portal with a 30° arthroscope that provides an excellent viewing to the femoral footprint through a hole of the posterior septum.
Project description:Hamstring autograft is one of the most used grafts for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, although there are several graft preparation techniques. It is extremely difficult to mimic the biomechanical properties of the native ACL; thus, it is important to achieve a proper graft configuration, diameter, and length. To avoid reruptures, an optimal and reproducible hamstring autograft is desired. Hamstring autograft has been traditionally devalued when compared with other options such as bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft. The purpose of this Technical Note is to describe in detail a hamstring braid graft configuration that could potentially overcome the past disadvantages of ACL reconstruction.
Project description:The awareness of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and their treatment is increasing among athletes and within the general population, so patients report early to orthopaedic surgeons. Because we encounter a thick ACL stump during arthroscopic ACL reconstruction, an attempt is made to preserve this stump. Remnant preservation-although promising in terms of graft healing because it enhances cell proliferation, revascularization, and regeneration of the proprioceptive organs in the reconstructed ACL-does not come without complications, such as cyclops lesions, impingement, and extension loss. These problems can be detrimental to an athlete's return to his or her preinjury level after ACL reconstruction. Therefore, we describe a technique in which the ACL is reconstructed using hamstring autograft and suture passes are made through the remnant with an antegrade suture-passing device. After anatomic tunnel drilling, the remnant is tensioned, along with the reconstructed ACL, at the femoral end without the use of an extra implant. Femoral-side fixation is achieved with an adjustable-loop button (Procinch; Stryker) and a bio-composite interference screw (Biosure Regenesorb; Smith & Nephew) on the tibial end. As the sutured remnant is tensioned and knots are made over the button, the remnant envelopes the graft in the orientation of the native ACL, which can be helpful for early and better ligamentization of the graft. The potential advantages of this technique are as follows: orientation of the remnant along the collagen of the ACL graft; no loose ACL stump in the notch, thus preventing cyclops lesions; retention of the proprioceptive organs in the ligament; and no extra implant.
Project description:We propose modifying the outside-in technique by adopting a posterolateral (PL) portal as the working portal to introduce the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) aiming guide while keeping the anteromedial portal as the viewing portal, the "PL-portal outside-in technique." This modification facilitates the preparation of an anatomical femoral tunnel, even when preserving a "big" ACL remnant or in small joint scenarios, such as pediatric ACLR. There is a minimal learning curve in adopting this technique because a standard 30° arthroscope is used, and the viewing portal is anterior.
Project description:During the past few decades, surgical techniques for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction have been developing significantly. To date, studies have shown that after ACL reconstruction, rotational stability has a greater impact on the patient's satisfaction, functional scores, and return to sports than translational stability. Although challenged by many authors in the literature, biomechanical studies on the anterolateral ligament (ALL) of the knee and clinical studies regarding ALL reconstruction have been revealing promising results. Thus, the potentially significant role of the ALL in biomechanical load sharing and improving rotational control of the knee has led to the development of various reconstruction techniques whose goal is to achieve simplicity and yield the best results possible. Guided by this idea, we have developed a modified ACL-ALL reconstruction surgical technique. In this article, our simple, bone-saving, anatomic technique to reconstruct both the ACL and ALL using hamstring tendon autograft is described.