Partial harvesting technique in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with autologous semitendinosus tendon to...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanical Engineering

Background:

• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction often involves semitendinosus tendon harvesting, leading to decreased deep knee flexion torque.
• Conventional whole tendon harvesting can cause significant postoperative functional deficits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel partial semitendinosus tendon harvesting technique.
• To assess if partial harvesting reduces functional deficits in deep knee flexion compared to whole harvesting.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 36 patients undergoing ACL reconstruction.
• Patients were divided into conventional whole semitendinosus harvesting (whole-ST, n=16) and partial semitendinosus harvesting (partial-ST, n=20) groups.
• Outcomes including muscle length and deep knee flexion torque were assessed at 2 years post-surgery.

Main Results:

• Partial semitendinosus harvesting resulted in significantly less muscle shortening (8mm vs. 36mm).
• Deep knee flexion torque was significantly better in the partial-ST group (87.0%) compared to the whole-ST group (55.3%).
• No significant differences were observed in range of motion, Lysholm score, or anterior knee laxity between groups.

Conclusions:

• Partial semitendinosus tendon harvesting effectively prevents muscle shortening after ACL reconstruction.
• This technique preserves deep knee flexion torque and improves functional outcomes compared to whole tendon harvesting.
• The partial harvesting method offers good clinical outcomes with reduced functional deficits.