Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 26, 2025
Athymic Rat Model for Evaluation of Engineered Anterior Cruciate Ligament Grafts
Published on: March 26, 2015
Speed whip ripstop technique during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using quadriceps tendon results in
Tomoyuki Kanayama1, Junsuke Nakase2, Mitsuhiro Kimura1
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa-city, 920-8641, Japan.
Purpose:
To compare the biomechanical strength of different fixation configurations using a suspensory button in a soft-tissue quadriceps tendon graft for Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction.
Methods:
Thirty fresh-frozen bovine Achilles tendons (10 mm wide, 50 mm long, and 4 mm thick) were used in this study. Tendons were assigned to three groups (n = 10 per group) with different suture configurations using adjustable loops with a suspensory button: group A, with the threads of an adjustable loop fixed by crossing at the tip of the loop and the entire loop; group B, continuous loops with hanging buttons were directly sutured to the tendon with eight simple sutures; group C, fixation was performed using the speed whip ripstop technique. Tensile tests with five cycles of preloading were performed at 50 N, held at 50 N for 1 min, and load-to-failure testing was conducted until rupture at 5 mm/min. The difference in the elongation and the maximum load-to-failure force were measured.
Results:
The average elongation was significantly larger in group B (16.6 ± 2.2 mm) than in groups A (10.3 ± 2.4 mm) and C (10.0 ± 1.0 mm), (p < 0.001). The average load-to-failure force varied significantly between the three groups, 157.5 ± 33.4 N in group A, 253.4 ± 45.5 N in group B, and 337.7 ± 21.0 N in group C, (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Fixation using the speed whip ripstop technique to fix the suspensory button and soft-tissue transplant tendon resulted in minimal elongation and higher fixation strength. Simple devices that use this method have already been developed. Since it can be fixed using a relatively simple method, speed whip ripstop technique was shown to be advantageous for femoral fixation in ACL reconstruction using soft-tissue quadriceps tendon. The findings of this study could help surgeons reduce graft re-tear rates in ACL reconstruction using quadriceps tendons.
Level Of Evidence:
N/A, laboratory control study.
