Graft choice for anatomic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: The comparison between thin autograft and thick hybrid graft. An observational study

Great controversy over the graft choice has been lasted now. This study compared the second-look evaluation and clinical outcomes of anatomic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) using a thin autograft versus a thick hybrid graft. Seventy-six patients with complete follow-up data were categorized into the autograft group (N = 34) and hybrid group (N = 42). The Lysholm score, Tegner activity level, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Knee Evaluation Form, and KT-1000 test were performed before and at follow-up. Results were compared, and further comparisons were made for grafts thicker than 8.5 mm. The hybrid graft was thicker than the autograft (9.10 ± 0.52 vs 8.57 ± 0.48 mm, P < .001). The KT-1000 test, subjective evaluation, and activity level scores increased significantly between pre- and postoperation for all patients (P < .001). No significant differences were, however, found between the 2 groups. Only grafts thicker than 8.5 mm were selected from the autograft (N = 14) and hybrid (N = 34) groups, the Lysholm, IKDC, and KT-1000 test scores were significantly superior for the autograft than the hybrid graft (P = .021, P = .005, and P = .024, respectively). For anatomic ACL-R, a pure autograft is superior to a hybrid graft of the same diameter. The purity of the autograft was more important than the size, and augmenting allografts may be unnecessary.