Anterolateral ligament reconstruction with autologous grafting: A biomechanical study.

Abstract

To evaluate the reliability of the Iliotibial band compared to gracilis tendon as a graft to be used in anterolateral ligament reconstruction. Gracilis tendon and a strip of Iliotibial band compared were harvested from 8 fresh human cadaveric knees. The gracilis tendon was prepared to obtain a graft of 10cm in length (Group 1). Iliotibial band compared was prepared to obtain a graft of 10cm in length and 0.5cm in width from the middle portion (Group 2). All the specimens were fixed on a servo hydraulic tensile machine with dedicated cryo-clamp. The loading protocol, used to compare the previously published results of ultimate failure load and Stiffness of the anterolateral ligament (Group 3), included a cyclic preconditioning between 10 and 25N at 0.1Hz for 10cycles and then a load to failure test at 20mm/min. Gracilis tendon showed higher Ultimante Failure Load and stiffness when compared to a strip of Iliotibial band. Gracilis tendon and a strip of Iliotibial band compared showed higher Ultimante Failure Load and stiffness when compared with native anterolateral ligament as reported by Kennedy. Both grafts tested in the present studies are suitable for an anatomical anterolateral ligament reconstruction.