Single and double hamstring tendon anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction – A prospective, comparative cohort study

Abstract

Objectives: Excellent knee stability is necessary to achieve good postoperative clinical results in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. However, there is little evidence in the literature regarding hamstring graft choice for ACL reconstruction. Our study intended to debate the best autograft choice for this procedure. We aimed to examine the functional and biomechanical outcomes of three different autografts used in ACL reconstruction, namely, Semitendinosus and Gracilis quadrupled (STGR) autograft, tripled or quadrupled ST autograft, and tripled Gracilis tendon autograft (GR). Methods: We conducted an observational, comparative, prospective cohort on 248 ACL reconstructed patients spanning 2 years (2009–2010) and evaluated the primary outcome with KT-1000 knee arthrometer and secondary outcomes with International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Tegner ctivity cale, and Lysholm score. Results: The data suggest a statistically significant increase in IKDC score and Lysholm score in the GR group – standing for better subjective outcomes like pain – compared to the STGR and ST groups (P = 0.0018 and P = 0.0034, respectively) and statistically non-significant differences between the STGR and ST groups for all evaluated parameters. KT-1000 side-to-side evaluation demonstrates that STGR autograft offers less structural knee laxity compared to GR autograft in ACL reconstruction (P = 0.044). Conclusion: The study found that STGR autograft offers more stability to the knee compared to the GR autograft alone yet is associated with inferior subjective outcomes compared to the GR group. GR autograft is a valid substitute for ACL reconstruction, especially in patients presenting with hyperlaxity or demanding lower functional performance.