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Use of patellar tendon autograft for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in the rabbit: A long‐term histologic and biomechanical study
Author(s) -
Ballock R. Tracy,
Woo Savio LY.,
Lyon Roger M.,
Hollis J. Marcus,
Akeson Wayne H.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.1100070404
Subject(s) - medicine , anterior cruciate ligament , patellar tendon , tendon , surgery , anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction , anatomy
To assess the degree of success of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) replacement using the patellar tendon (PT) autograft, 29 New Zealand white rabbits underwent ACL reconstruction using a medial one‐third PT autograft. The femur–ligament–tibia complexes were evaluated at 0, 6, 30, and 52 weeks postoperatively for gross and histologic appearances and tensile load to failure properties. Grossly, the autografts did not resemble the control ACLs. Histologically, the autografts progressed from being hypercellular with a random collagen fiber bundle organization to having a near normal cellularity with a more parallel collagen fiber bundle pattern. Anteroposterior knee laxity was more than two times that of the control knees 52 weeks after reconstruction. Biomechanically, the PT autografts plateaued at 30 weeks postoperatively. The ultimate load and stiffness were 15 ± 5% and 24 ± 6% of the control ACLs, respectively. At 52 weeks, the appearance of the PT autograft had some general histologic similarities as compared with the native ACL. However, these similarities did not extend to the functional properties of the autograft.