HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Blum, M. F. Articles by Lemons, J. E. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Blum, M. F. Articles by Lemons, J. E.

The Effects of Graft Rotation on Attachment Site Separation Distances in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

University of Alabama in Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama

William P. Garth, JR., MD

University of Alabama in Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama

Jack E. Lemons, PhD

University of Alabama in Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama

We created a model to see if twisting the graft in an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction affected the distance separating the femoral and tibial attachments of the perimeter fibers of a patellar tendon graft. Graft bone plugs were simulated by two 12.5-mm diameter Delrin cylinders. Holes, 1 mm in diameter, were placed at the four corners of a centralized rectangle measuring 5 by 10 mm. Graft ligament fibers were represented by color-coded sutures passed through the holes in the modeled bone plugs. This graft model was fixed in tun nels reamed under arthroscopic guidance at the ante rior cruciate ligament attachment sites of the femur and tibia in six fresh-frozen knee specimens. Spring gauges were used to measure indirectly the changes in distance of separation during knee flexion between the femoral and tibial attachments relative to a zero defined at 90° of knee flexion. The tibial cylinder was rotated at 45° increments from 90° external to 180° internal rotation relative to the femoral cylinder and measurements were repeated after each incremental rotation. External ro tation resulted in a statistically significant higher mean separation distance (4.5 mm) for peripheral graft attach ments than internal rotation (2.8 mm) (P = 0.05).

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Berkson, G. H. Lee, A. Kumar, N. Verma, B. R. Bach Jr, and N. Hallab The Effect of Cyclic Loading on Rotated Bone-Tendon-Bone Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Constructs Am. J. Sports Med., September 1, 2006; 34(9): 1442 - 1449. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. B. FRANK and D. W. JACKSON Current Concepts Review - The Science of Reconstruction of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament J. Bone Joint Surg. Am., October 1, 1997; 79(10): 1556 - 76. [Full Text]