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Published on: June 27, 2018
A comparison of structural and mechanical properties of tubularized and native semitendinosus graft
Robert Y Wang1, Robert A Arciero, Elifho Obopilwe
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Connecticut Health Center, New England Musculoskeletal Institute, Farmington, CT, USA. robwang1@hotmail.com
Background:
The semitendinosus tendon has a broad and thin length of aponeurosis. Tubularizing this portion of the graft converts it into a cylindrical structure, which may have implications for graft fixation.
Hypothesis:
A tubularized semitendinosus tendon will demonstrate a higher tensile load to failure and increased stiffness compared with its native form.
Study Design:
Controlled laboratory study.
Methods:
Twenty cadaveric paired semitendinosus specimens were used. Ten served as the control group; the other 10 underwent tubularization along the length of the aponeurosis. All testing was performed on the MTS 858 Mini Bionix II. Outcome measures included cross-sectional area, stress, stiffness, and peak load to failure.
Results:
The nontubularized tendons had a higher peak tensile load to failure (mean 1112.6 +/- 345.0 N) than the tubularized tendons (mean 711.4 +/- 228.7 N, P = .007). The nontubularized specimens also had a higher stiffness (213.0 +/- 37.2 N) than the tabularized group (144.9 +/- 44.8 N, P = .002).
Conclusion:
Tubularization of the semitendinosus graft weakens its structural and mechanical properties.
Clinical Relevance:
On the basis of the results of this study, we do not tubularize the semitendinosus graft in ACL reconstruction because of weakened structural and mechanical properties.
