Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Graft Technique Reliably Yields Grafts With 8.0-mm Diameter or Larger

Abstract

The significance of graft diameter in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with soft tissue grafts is well established, with a minimum graft diameter of 8.0 mm associated with lower rates of revision surgery. Consistently achieving grafts that meet or exceed the ideal diameter of 8.0 mm is still a concern with traditional tibial screw fixation, even with quadrupled hamstring autografts. The authors hypothesized that following a simple intraoperative algorithm selectively incorporating the gracilis tendon in an 8-stranded construct for all-inside ACLR with suspensory fixation on both ends of the graft would consistently achieve graft diameters of 8.0 mm or larger by allowing more of the graft material to contribute to increased diameter instead of increased length for screw fixation, with no allograft tissue required. A total of 113 eligible cases were identified, including 70 male patients and 43 female patients (mean±SD age, 25.92±6.47 years; range, 14-49 years). All 113 grafts (100%) were at least 8.0 mm in diameter. There were 8 grafts that were 8.0 mm. Overall mean±SD graft diameter was 9.32±0.71 mm (median, 9.5 mm; range, 8.0-11.0 mm). There were no cases in which allograft tissue was needed to increase graft size. An analysis of 113 cases of all-inside hamstring autograft ACLR with dual suspensory fixation showed that a graft diameter of at least 8.0 mm was achieved in every case, without the use of allograft tissue. These results suggest that this technique for ACLR is reliable in producing grafts that meet or exceed the recommended minimum diameter of 8.0 mm. [Orthopedics. 2021;44(4):e539-e545.].