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ANTERIOR
CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION: CLINICAL OUTCOMES OF PATELLA TENDON
AND HAMSTRING TENDON GRAFTS
Dawn
T. Gulick 
and Heather N. Yoder |
Widener University, Institute for Physical Therapy Education, One University
Place, Chester, PA, USA
| Received |
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01
May 2002 |
| Accepted |
|
09
July 2002 |
| Published |
|
01 September 2002 |
© Journal of Sports Science
and Medicine (2002) 1, 63-71
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An injury to the
ACL can result in significant functional impairment. It has been estimated
that more than 100,000 new ACL injuries occur each year. Surgeons employ
numerous techniques for reconstruction of the ACL. Of critical importance
is the source of the graft to replace the damaged ACL. The graft choices
include autografts (the patient's own tissue), allografts (donor tendon),
and synthetic/prosthetic ligaments. Tissue harvest sites for autografting
include the middle third of the patella tendon, the quadriceps tendon, semitendinosus
tendon, gracilis tendon, iliotibial band, tensor fascia lata, and the Achilles
tendon. Selection of the type of graft material is predicated upon the tissue's
ability to tolerate high levels of stress. Likewise, the clinical presentation
and functional outcome is related to the graft material selected. This manuscript
specifically examined the patella tendon and hamstring tendon grafts. Numerous
manuscripts that studied the outcomes of these graft materials were compiled
to help the clinician appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of each
of the graft materials. Outcome measures such as thigh circumference, knee
range of motion, isokinetic strength, knee stability, pain, and vertical
jump/1-leg hop were incorporated. The purpose of this manuscript was to
compare and contrast the clinical presentation of patients who underwent
an ACL reconstruction using the patella tendon versus the hamstring tendons.
This information can be valuable to the clinician when considering the rehabilitation
protocol after ACL reconstruction.
KEY WORDS: ACL, ligament reconstruction, functional outcome.
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