Autografts from the foot for reconstruction of the scapholunate interosseous ligament

A cadaveric study was undertaken to identify a potential autograft for use in repairing the ruptured scapholunate interosseous ligament. Three ligament complexes (the dorsal metatarsal ligament of the fourth and fifth metatarsals, a dorsal tarsometatarsal ligament, and the dorsal calcaneocuboid ligament) were chosen as autograft candidates. The scapholunate interosseous ligament and the three autograft candidates were harvested as bone-ligament-bone complexes from matched hands and feet of six fresh-frozen male cadavers (age, 51-68 years). The complexes were elongated using a servohydraulic testing machine at a constant grip-to-grip rate of 0.1 mm/s until failure. Stiffness and strength values were calculated and compared for each ligament complex. Analysis indicated that the stiffness values for the tarsometatarsal ligament and the scapholunate interosseous ligament were not statistically different, while such values for the other two autografts were significantly less. The strength values of all three autografts were significantly less than those of the scapholunate interosseous ligament. This study indicates that of the potential autografts tested, the tarsometatarsal ligament is biomechanically most similar to the intact scapholunate interosseous ligament.