Summary
The immediate postoperative biomechanical properties of an “underand-over” cranial
cruciate ligament (CCL) replacement technique consisting of fascia lata and the lateral
onethird of the patellar ligament, were compared with that of a modified intra- and
extracapsular “under-and-over-the-top” (UOTT) method. The right CCL in twelve adult
dogs was dissected out and replaced with an autograft. The contralateral, intact CCL
served as the control. In group A, the graft was secured to the lateral femoral condyle
with a spiked washer and screw. In group B the intracapsular graft was secured to
the lateral femoro-fabellar ligament, and the remainder to the patellar tendon. Both
CCL replacement techniques exhibited a 2.0 ± 0.5 mm anterior drawer immediately after
the operation. After skeletonization of the stifles, the length and cross-sectional
area of the intact CCL and CCL substitutes were determined. Each bone-ligament unit
was tested in linear tension to failure at a fixed distraction rate of 15 mm/s with
the stifle in 120° flexion. Data was processed to obtain the corresponding material
parameters (modulus, stress and strain in the linear loading region, and energy absorption
to maximum load).
The immediate postoperative structural and material properties of the “under-and-over”
cranial cruciate ligament replacement technique with autogenous fascia lata, were
compared to that of a modified intra- and extracapsular “under-and-over-the-top” (UOTT)
method. The combined UOT T technique was slightly stronger (6%), but allowed 2.8 ±
0.9 mm more cranial tibial displacement at maximum linear force.
Keywords
Cranial cruciate ligament - fascia lata - biomechanical properties - dog
