Technical note: alternative soft-tissue graft preparation technique for cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Abstract

Reconstruction of both the anterior cruciate ligament and posterior cruciate ligament has become increasingly common in orthopaedic practice. Once the gold standard for graft choice, the bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft has lost favor because of complications associated with its use. Attention has turned to other graft sources that lack a bone plug on 1 or both sides, such as hamstring autograft, and allografts including quadriceps, Achilles, and tibialis anterior tendons. We have developed a technique for graft preparation that can be used for a wide range of graft choices that has been shown both to provide better protection of the graft from interference screw damage, and to increase sequential compression of the graft in the bony tunnel, enhancing pull-out strength.