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Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using quadriceps tendon autograft is a viable option for small-statured female patients

  • KNEE
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

The choice of graft for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction remains controversial. The quadriceps tendon (QT) autograft is a good alternative for ACL reconstruction. However, concerns regarding its use in short-statured patients, related to donor site morbidity, anterior knee pain, or loss of muscle strength remain. This study aimed to compare muscle strength and morbidity between patients with short and normal statures following ACL reconstruction with a QT autograft.

Methods

A total of 73 female patients (mean age, 33.8 ± 11.5 years) who underwent primary ACL reconstruction between 2016 and 2019 were included. Patients were categorized into two groups: group S, with a height ≤ 163 cm, and group L, with a height > 163 cm. Muscle strength, harvesting site morbidity, and ACL-return to sport after injury scale (ACL-RSI) were evaluated, with a mean timing of the follow-up of 9.0 ± 2.3 months.

Results

The mean quadriceps strength for the isokinetic measurements at 60° and 240° was 65.0% and 74.0% in group S, respectively, and 70.0% and 75.7% in group L, respectively. There was no significant difference in the postoperative muscle strength or mean ACL-RSI (group S, 70.0; group L, 65.9) between the groups. No donor site morbidity was observed in either group.

Conclusion

Muscle strength recovery, morbidity, and readiness to return to sports were similar in both groups, which supports the possibility of QT autografts for patients with a small stature. The results of this study may provide useful information for surgeons who are hesitant to perform QT autografts because of patient physique.

Level of Evidence

IV.

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Availability of data and materials

The data sets during and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

ACL:

Anterior cruciate ligament

ACLR:

Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

QT:

Quadriceps tendon

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Editage [http://www.editage.com] for editing and reviewing this manuscript for English language.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Sports Medicine and Exercise, Swiss Olympic Medical Center, Hirslanden Clinique La Colline, Chemin Thury 7 A, 1206, Geneve, Switzerland

    Kazumi Goto, Victoria B. Duthon & Jacques Menetrey

  2. University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Jacques Menetrey

Authors
  1. Kazumi Goto
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  2. Victoria B. Duthon
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  3. Jacques Menetrey
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Contributions

GK: conceived of the presented idea. MJ and DV: developed the theory and performed the computations. GK and MJ: verified the analytical methods. MJ encouraged GK: to investigate this study and supervised the findings of this work. G.K. designed the study and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. DV: contributed to analysis and interpretation of data and assisted in the preparation of the manuscript. All other authors have contributed to data collection and interpretation, and critically reviewed the manuscript. MJ: conceived of the study and was in charge of overall direction and planning. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

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Correspondence to Kazumi Goto.

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This study was approved by our institutional review board.

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Written informed consent was obtained from the patients for participation of this case series.

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Written informed consent was obtained from the patients for publication of this case series and accompanying images.

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Goto, K., Duthon, V.B. & Menetrey, J. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using quadriceps tendon autograft is a viable option for small-statured female patients. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 30, 2358–2363 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-021-06845-9

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