Distal Kaplan Fiber Tenodesis Surgical Technique

Anterior cruciate ligament tears are a common knee injury, and even after reconstruction, some patients may still experience instability in their knee. To address this, extra-articular reinforcement may be necessary to prevent anterior translation and internal rotation of the tibia. Kaplan fibers (KFs), which are the attachments of the iliotibial band to the distal femur, can help improve anterolateral rotatory stability in the knee, especially in greater degrees of knee flexion. Our technique for KF reconstruction involves making a 10-cm incision in the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the distal and lateral thigh. We release a 10-cm × 1-cm strip of the iliotibial band while maintaining its tibial insertion and then stitch the free end of the strip before attaching it to the distal femur using a ToggelLoc (Zimmer Biomet). The advantage of this technique is that the tension of the iliotibial band strip can be adjusted using the ToggelLoc, allowing the surgeon to increase tension in the graft as needed to achieve ideal tension in knee flexion.