ANTEROMEDIAL OR CENTRAL ANATOMIC ACL RECONSTRUCTION? A CADAVERIC HIP-TO-TOE STUDY

OBJECTIVE: To compare anatomic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction between two tunnel positions in knees with isolated ligament tears. METHODS: Anatomic ACL reconstruction was performed, from hip-to-toe, on 15 fresh cadaveric specimens. No associated lesions were created to enhance knee instability. The protocol was conducted in three states: (1) complete isolated ACL deficiency; (2) anatomic femoral and tibial anteromedial ACL reconstruction (AM REC); and (3) anatomic femoral and tibial central ACL reconstruction (Central REC). The reconstruction protocols were randomly assigned. The continuous mechanized pivot-shift test was recorded dynamically with a tracking system. RESULTS: The Central REC group showed a smaller degree of internal rotation (0.6° ± 0.3° vs. 1.8° ± 0.3°, respectively, P < 0.05) and no difference in anterior translation (4.7 mm ± 0.4 mm vs. 4.5 mm ± 0.4 mm, respectively, P > 0.05) in the pivot-shift test, compared with the AM REC group. CONCLUSION: The central anatomic ACL reconstruction resulted in greater restriction of internal rotation than the anteromedial anatomic ACL reconstruction. Experimental Study on Cadaver.