Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction graft harvesting: pitfalls and tips

Surgical treatment for anterior cruciate ligament deficiency has relied predominantly on reconstruction with autografts. Grafts taken from patients' own central third of their patellar tendon, bone-patellar tendon bone, or one or more of the hamstring tendons, semitendinosus, and gracilis, constitute the majority of grafts used for these purposes. Although there is no single graft option that clearly outperforms another, an abundance of articles replete with complications associated with harvest and use are available from peer-reviewed journals. It is these complications and their prevention that will be addressed in the following chapter. The idea in mind is that the reader might adopt these techniques to improve their patient outcomes by minimizing, or eliminating, the ongoing problems that such complications produce.