Minimally Invasive Quadriceps Tendon Harvest Technique for ACL Reconstruction

Graft selection for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) remains a debated topic within the orthopaedic sports medicine community. While the bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft has been considered the gold standard, the quadriceps tendon autograft has gained popularity because of its similarly low failure rate and decreased donor-site morbidity.

We present a case of an active 34-year-old woman with a left knee ACL tear. Using a quadriceps tendon autograft can be indicated when the patient is >5 feet tall and a substantial graft can be expected after harvest.

We present a reproducible, minimally invasive technique of harvesting a quadriceps tendon autograft using the QuadPro Tendon Harvester. We also demonstrate an effective method to close the donor site endoscopically using a suture passer.

Using this technique, our clinical results align with the current literature, with low retear rates and a high return-to-sport rate.

We present a reliable, minimally invasive technique to harvest the quadriceps tendon for ACLR. We discuss the technical pearls we have learned while performing this technique.

The author(s) attests that consent has been obtained from any patient(s) appearing in this publication. If the individual may be identifiable, the author(s) has included a statement of release or other written form of approval from the patient(s) with this submission for publication.