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Athymic Rat Model for Evaluation of Engineered Anterior Cruciate Ligament Grafts
Published on: March 26, 2015
Hamstrings tendon graft preparation for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using the WhipKnot™ soft tissue
Amin Masoumiganjgah1, Umesh Dhanjee, Tendai Mwaturura
1Toowoomba Hospital, University of Queensland, QLD, Australia.
Background:
Appropriate graft tension and secure graft incorporation in bone tunnels are essential for successful anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using hamstrings tendon autografts. The WhipKnot™ soft tissue cinch, introduced by Smith and Nephew in 2004, is an alternative option to the commonly used whipstitch technique during preparation of the hamstring autograft in ACL reconstruction.
Aims:
To investigate the effectiveness of the WhipKnot™ soft tissue cinch and technique during the preparation of the tendon graft for ACL reconstruction.
Method:
A total of 33 ACL reconstruction operations performed between February 2011 and December 2011 were included in this study. These were performed by a single senior surgeon who used the Whipknot™ technique for the preparation of each graft. Four were used for each operation; two for each end of the harvested hamstrings tendons, including semitendinosus and gracilis tendons respectively.
Results:
In total, 132 WhipKnots were used during the knee operations. Use of the WhipKnot™ technique resulted in successful graft preparations, tensioning and effective graft placement in the tibial and femoral tunnels in almost all instances. Only one case of WhipKnot™ failure (slippage) was recorded.
Conclusion:
These results indicate that the Whipknot™ technique is a safe, reliable and practical option for the preparation of the hamstrings autografts.