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Joint kinematics and in situ forces after single bundle PCL reconstruction: a graft placed at the center of the femoral attachment does not restore normal posterior laxity

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Abstract

Introduction: Femoral tunnel placement has a great influence on the clinical outcome after PCL reconstruction. Materials and methods: Using a robotic/universal force moment sensor (UFS) testing system, we examined joint kinematics and in situ forces of human knees following soft-tissue single bundle PCL reconstruction fixed at the center of the femoral attachment. Results: Posterior tibial translation significantly increased at all flexion angles after transsection of the posterior cruciate ligament (p<0.05). PCL reconstruction resulted in significantly less posterior tibial translation at all flexion angles when compared to the PCL deficient knee (p<0.05). The differences in the in situ force between the intact ligament and the reconstructed graft were statistical significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: Single bundle PCL reconstruction with a soft-tissue graft fixed at the center of the femoral attachment is able to reduce the posterior tibial translation significantly. However, it cannot restore kinematics of the intact knee and in situ forces of the intact PCL.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Deutschsprachige Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Arthroskopie (AGA) for the funding of the robot. Thore Zantop was AGA Research Fellow at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh. We would like to thank Mr. N. Settele from Kuka Robotics (Wolfsburg, Germany) and Prof. Schütt (Department of Robotic Technology of the University Westkueste in Heide/Germany) for their technical advice. The implants and instruments used in the present study have been donated by Storz (Tuttlingen; Germany). None of the authors received financial support from any commercial party.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany

    Simon Lenschow

  2. Department of Trauma-, Hand-, and Reconstructive Surgery, Westfalian Wilhelms University, Münster, Germany

    Thore Zantop, Andre Weimann, Michael Raschke & Wolf Petersen

  3. Orthopädische Gemeinschaftspraxis, Straubing, Germany

    Michael Strobel

  4. Kuka Robotics, Augsburg, Germany

    Thomas Lemburg

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  1. Simon Lenschow
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  2. Thore Zantop
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  4. Thomas Lemburg
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  5. Michael Raschke
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  6. Michael Strobel
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  7. Wolf Petersen
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Correspondence to Wolf Petersen.

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Lenschow, S., Zantop, T., Weimann, A. et al. Joint kinematics and in situ forces after single bundle PCL reconstruction: a graft placed at the center of the femoral attachment does not restore normal posterior laxity. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 126, 253–259 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-005-0062-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-005-0062-9

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