Minimally Invasive Anterior Semitendinosus Harvest: A Technique to Decrease Saphenous Nerve Injury

Hamstring tendon harvest, especially semitendinosus harvest, has been widely used in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction for many years. However, donor site morbidity has been described regarding the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve. Minimally invasive anterior semitendinosus harvest is a simple, safe, reproducible, and elegant technique. A 2-cm vertical incision above the pes anserinus is performed 2 cm medial to the tibial anterior tubercle. The fascia superficialis is opened with a horizontal incision, and the gracilis is isolated using a retractor. The semitendinosus is grabbed with a probe, and the vincula are hooked one by one. The tendon is harvested with a closed stripper. The expansions are cut, and the tendon is detached from the bone with part of the periosteum.