Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Athymic Rat Model for Evaluation of Engineered Anterior Cruciate Ligament Grafts
Published on: March 26, 2015
[ACL reconstruction with bone-patellar tendon-bone graft and proximal fixation with the EndoButton: a 2- to 5-year
K Tecklenburg1, C Hoser, R Sailer
1Klinik für Unfallchirurgie und Sporttraumatologie, Universität Innsbruck, Osterreich.
Background:
Interference screw fixation in ACL reconstruction with bone-patellar tendon-bone graft (BPTB) is a potential source of intraoperative complications such as graft laceration. Further problems are artifacts on MRI and screw removal in revision surgery. These problems can be avoided by using distant fixation with the EndoButton. We designed this study to evaluate the clinical as well as the subjective outcome of ACL reconstruction with BPTB graft and femoral fixation with the EndoButton.
Methods:
A total of 51 patients (7 female, 44 male) were examined 2-5 years after ACL reconstruction with BPTB graft and femoral fixation with the EndoButton. We used the IKDC form, Lysholm score, Tegner activity score, and digital radiographs (AP, lateral, axial) for the evaluation.
Results:
Of all the patients included in the study, 87% showed a "normal" or "nearly normal" knee function according to the IKDC score, Lysholm score 94.2+/-7.9, Tegner score 6.4+/-1.2, and subjective IKDC 89.9+/-11.9. Radiological signs of arthritic changes could be seen in ten cases.
Conclusion:
The clinical outcome of ACL reconstruction with EndoButton fixation is comparable to other studies on ACL reconstruction with interference screw fixation. However, since the EndoButton avoids potential problems of the interference screw fixation, we recommend this fixation technique for ACL reconstruction with BPTB graft.