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ACL graft migration under cyclic loading

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

Abstract

Elongation and migration of ACL grafts will lead to a deterioration of the initial stability of ACL reconstructions. The graft migration has been sparsely investigated independently from the elongation of the graft–fixation complex. The hypothesis of this investigation was that cyclic tensile loads cause a measurable migration of the grafts. Three graft/fixation combinations were investigated in human femora (n = 7): human bone-patellar tendon grafts fixed with a biointerference screw (BPTG-IS) and free tendon grafts (porcine) fixed with either a Bio-TransFix pin (FTG-TF) or an Endobutton CL (FTG-EB). The grafts were fitted with tantalum markers. Then, the specimens were repetitively loaded (50–250 N, 800 cycles). The marker position was fluoroscopically determined at defined intervals and the migration calculated from the change in position relative to a fiducial marker within the bone. A migration of the grafts occurred in all three groups. The migration in the FTG-EB group was significantly larger than in the two other groups (P < 0.01). After 800 cycles, average migration was 0.3 (±0.2) mm in the BPTG-IS group, 0.7 (±0.4) mm FTG-TF group, 2.0 (±1.3) mm in the FTG-EB group. This migration might contribute to a loss of initial stability. Because the graft migration was dependent on the technique, the presented data might provide additional arguments for making the decision on the most appropriate graft/fixation combination.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany

    Christian Staerke, Andreas Möhwald & Carsten Bochwitz

  2. Institute of Mechanics, Otto-von-Guericke Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany

    Karl-Heinz Gröbel

  3. Department for Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, City Hospital Brandenburg, Brandenburg, Germany

    Roland Becker

Authors
  1. Christian Staerke
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  2. Andreas Möhwald
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  3. Karl-Heinz Gröbel
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  4. Carsten Bochwitz
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  5. Roland Becker
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Correspondence to Christian Staerke.

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Staerke, C., Möhwald, A., Gröbel, KH. et al. ACL graft migration under cyclic loading. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 18, 1065–1070 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-009-0970-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-009-0970-2

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