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Int J Sports Med 2014; 35(05): 438-442
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1353175
Orthopedics & Biomechanics
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Mechanical Effects of Defect Closure Following BPTB Graft Harvest for ACL Reconstruction

M. C. Sobieraj
1   Orthopaedic Surgery, New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, United States
,
A. J. Egol
1   Orthopaedic Surgery, New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, United States
,
F. J. Kummer
1   Orthopaedic Surgery, New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, United States
,
E. J. Strauss
1   Orthopaedic Surgery, New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, United States
› Author Affiliations
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Publication History



accepted after revision 10 July 2013

Publication Date:
18 September 2013 (online)

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Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament injury affects roughly 120 000 athletes in the United States every year. One of the most common techniques is the use of a bone-patellar tendon-bone graft. Graft harvest creates a sizeable defect in the remaining patellar tendon. Closure of this defect is based on surgeon preference. To date there has been no study on the effects of defect closure on the mechanical properties of remaining donor patellar tendon. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of closure on both the strength and stiffness of the remaining patellar tendon. 7 pairs of fresh frozen cadaver patellar tendons were matched by tendon dimensions. Bone-patellar tendon-bone grafts were harvested from all of the specimens and then half of the paired tendons underwent defect closure. All of the donor tendons were then tested in a servohydraulic load frame to failure at a constant displacement rate at room temperature. This study found no differences in the load at failure, the engineering failure stress, stiffness or in the engineering modulus between the donor tendons that underwent defect closure versus those that did not.

Key words

anterior cruciate ligament - reconstruction - bone-patellar tendon-bone graft
 

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