The Use of a Corrugated Suture for Cortical Fixation of a Semitendinosus Tendon Autograft in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Clinical Results

Abstract

The study purpose — to evaluate the clinical results and the condition of bone tunnels after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a semitendinosus tendon graft using cortical fixation and corrugated sutures.Materials and Methods. The results anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a semitendinosus tendon autograft were analyzed in 57 patients aged 18 to 53 years. The patients of the first group (n = 27) underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a semitendinosus tendon graft using cortical fixation on the femur and tibia in combination with corrugated sutures at the proximal and distal ends of the graft. The patients of the second group (n = 30) underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in a similar way, but without the use of corrugated sutures. Clinical results were assessed using the Lysholm and IKDC scales. The degree of bone tunnels widening was evaluated by CT data in 6 months after the surgery.Results. In the first group, the degree of postoperative bone tunnels widening was significantly lower (for the femoral tunnel by 18% and tibial — by 17%) compared with the second group (for the femoral tunnel by 30% and tibial — by 31%). Scores by the IKDC 2000 and Lysholm scales were higher in the corrugated sutured group. Although, the treatment outcome was interpreted as equally good for both groups. The time for graft preparation was on average 6 minutes longer in the first group. This slightly increased the duration of the surgery.Conclusion. The anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a semitendinosus tendon graft using cortical fixation on the femur and tibia in combination with corrugated sutures ensured the tight contact of the tendon inside the bone tunnels without additional implants and reduced the degree of tunnels widening. This is important for a possible re-grafting. The proposed method does not significantly affect the clinical outcomes.