Hamstring graft size for anterior cruciate ligament repair in a sample of Iraqi men

Abstract

The goal of the current investigation was to measure the size of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) graft following hamstring (gracilis and semitendinosus) tendon autograft procedures in a relatively large sample size of Iraqi men. In this study, the quadruple hamstring tendon (semitendinosus and gracilis) was measured in a sample of Iraqi adult males. The study enrolled 300 Iraqi men who underwent anterior cruciate ligament repair at Diwaniyah Teaching Hospital and Alforat Alawast Private Hospital between January 2020 and December 2021. The repair procedure was based on the utilization of the quadruple (gracilis and semitendinosus) hamstring tendon. The primary outcome measure was the size of the tendon, determined using a sizing tube calibrated to 0.5 mm. 80% of patients had a graft diameter of 7.5 mm, while 15% had a graft diameter of 8 mm, and 5% had a diameter of 7 mm. Body mass index was a poor predictor of graft size, whereas patient height was an excellent predictor of graft diameter. The graft diameter in most Iraqi subjects with anterior cruciate ligament injuries needs to be five bands or even six bands; otherwise, other graft sources like bone-patellar-bone or peroneus longus tendon grafts should be considered. The graft diameter may be reliably anticipated based on the patient’s height.