Study of anatomy and dimension of anterior cruciate ligament and hamstrings tendon graft in cadavers

Abstract

There has been increase in the cases of anterior cruciate ligament injury and multiple ligament injuries of the knee which result in the damage to the active and passive stabilisers of the knee, thereby hampering the normal biomechanics of the knee joint along with the neurovascular compromise due to increase in sporting activities and increased road traffic accidents. Reconstruction of the damaged ligaments of the knee poses problem even to experienced surgeons. Therefore the operating surgeon should have the complete knowledge of the anatomy of ligaments of the knee, graft used for reconstruction and normal biomechanics so as to reduce the operative timing and better postoperative functional outcome. Length and diameter of the native anterior cruciate ligament play an important role in selection and preparation of graft for reconstruction. Our study reveals the details of the dimensions of the mid substance, footprints of the anterior cruciate ligament and the quadrupled hamstring tendon graft used for the reconstruction. The hypothesis of this study is that there is mismatch between the dimensions of mid substance of the anterior cruciate ligament and the quadrupled hamstring tendon graft for the reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament.