Evaluation of the results of arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction by quadruple semitendinosus and gracilis tendon autograft fixation with biodegradable interference tibial screw and endobutton for femur

Abstract

Introduction: Anterior cruciate ligament is often injured in physical activities especially contact sports and road accidents. ACL injury is a debilitating condition which may result pain, swelling and instability especially during activities involving side stepping and pivoting. Arthroscopic reconstruction of the ACL with central one-third of the patellar ligament and the hamstring tendon construct are most commonly used for reconstruction of ACL. Hamstring tendon graft using semitendinosus or semitendinosus-gracilis tendons either tripled for quadrupled form has evolved as an alternative for ACL reconstruction.Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study (Prospective Study). This study was done from January 2015 to December 2016 at National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. Patients presented with unilateral knee complaints and clinically diagnosed as ACL injury of both sexes at OPD of NITOR were included in this study. Due to time limitation and financial constrain 30 cases were selected during the study period. Purposive sampling (nonrandomized) was done according to availability of the patients and strictly considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Post operatively Lachman test improved significantly, 95% cases of grade I and grade II was in 5% patients. Anterior drawer was positive in 10% cases. Pivot shift test was negative in all cases. McMurry test negative in all cases. After operation 80% had 135o knee flexion and 20% had less than 130o flexion. Preoperative versus post operative Lysholm knee score in this series shows significant improvements (p