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Does Tourniquet Use Affect the Length of the Hamstring Tendon in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction?
Tarık Altunkiliç1, Bünyamin Ari1, İsmail Güzel1
1Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Malatya Turgut Ozal University, Malatya 44280, Turkey.
Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the use of a tourniquet during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction affects the length of the hamstring tendon used for autograft. Methods: Adult patients who were referred to the Orthopedics and Traumatology Department of The Malatya Turgut Özal University hospital and were diagnosed with anterior cruciate ligament injury between 30 July 2025 and 30 December 2025 were included in the study. In total, 31 patients from whom the hamstring tendon was harvested without a tourniquet were placed in Group 1, and 36 patients from whom the hamstring tendon was harvested with a tourniquet were placed in Group 2. This study is a prospective, randomized, comparative study. These two groups were compared with respect to the lengths of the hamstring tendons used as autografts. Results: The semitendinosus and gracilis tendon lengths in Group 1 were 29.61 ± 1.76 cm and 27.68 ± 2.02 cm, respectively. In Group 2, the semitendinosus and gracilis tendon lengths were 25.67 ± 1.45 cm and 23.72 ± 1.06 cm, respectively. A statistically significant difference was observed between the semitendinosus and gracilis tendon lengths of the participants in Groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that avoiding tourniquet use during hamstring tendon harvest may represent a simple technical modification that can influence harvested tendon length during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the use of a tourniquet during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction affects the length of the hamstring tendon used for autograft. Methods: Adult patients who were referred to the Orthopedics and Traumatology Department of The Malatya Turgut Özal University hospital and were diagnosed with anterior cruciate ligament injury between 30 July 2025 and 30 December 2025 were included in the study. In total, 31 patients from whom the hamstring tendon was harvested without a tourniquet were placed in Group 1, and 36 patients from whom the hamstring tendon was harvested with a tourniquet were placed in Group 2. This study is a prospective, randomized, comparative study. These two groups were compared with respect to the lengths of the hamstring tendons used as autografts. Results: The semitendinosus and gracilis tendon lengths in Group 1 were 29.61 ± 1.76 cm and 27.68 ± 2.02 cm, respectively. In Group 2, the semitendinosus and gracilis tendon lengths were 25.67 ± 1.45 cm and 23.72 ± 1.06 cm, respectively. A statistically significant difference was observed between the semitendinosus and gracilis tendon lengths of the participants in Groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that avoiding tourniquet use during hamstring tendon harvest may represent a simple technical modification that can influence harvested tendon length during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
