Objective To explore an improved reconstruction of the anterior crucial ligament (ACL) with the allograft hamstring fixed by the Rigidfix and Intrafix anchorages and to evaluate its therapeutic effectiveness in a short term. Methods The ACL reconstruction was performed under the arthroscope on 21 patients’ knees from Janaury 2006 to December 2006. There were 13 males and 8 females aged from 18 to 53 years. The injuries were caused by a traffic accident in 7 patients, a movement damage in 11, and other factors in 3. The medial collateral ligament(MCL) and the medial meniscus were injured in 10 patients, the medial meniscus andthe lateral meniscus were injured in 3, the lateral meniscus was injured in 6, and only the ACl was injured in 2. The operations were performed 7 days to 3 monhs after the injuries. The graft used was the fourstranded allograft hamstring, which was fixed by the Rigidfix and Intrafix anchorages. The therapeutic effect was evaluated according to the Lysholm rating scale. Results The follow-up of all the 21 patients for 3-9 months (average, 5.8 months) revealed that the knees of 19 patients could move beyond 120° after operation. In 1 patient who had the MCL injury, the range of genuflex was limited to 80° at 3 months after operation, and so the operation of lysis was performed under thearthroscope again. In 1 patient, the rejection against the allograft was treated by the irrigating under the arthroscope but had little effect. The anterior drawer test and the pivot shift test were negative in the 21 patients. During the Lanchman test, 1 patient had a positive result (Degree Ⅰ). The Lysholm scores were significantly increased from 56.73±6.58 to 88.14±7.02 (P＜0.01). Conclusion The surgical approach to reconstruction of ACL with the fourstranded allograft hamstring fixed by the Rigidfix and Intrafix anchorages is feasible and safe. The resulting fixation is reliable. The patients can begin their postoperative rehabilitation exercise earlier and their movement function can be restored earlier.
ObjectiveTo compare the incidence of chondral injury using Rigidfix femoral fixation device via the anteromedial approach and the tibial tunnel approach during anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. MethodsEighteen adult cadaver knees were divided randomly into 2 groups, 9 knees in each group. Femoral tunnel drilling and cross-pin guide insertions were performed using the Rigidfix femoral fixation device through the anteromedial approach (group A) and the tibial tunnel approach (group B). ACL reconstruction simulation was performed at 0, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 70, 80, and 90°in the horizontal position. The correlation between incidence of chondral injury and slope angles was analyzed, and then the incidence was compared between the 2 groups. ResultsThe correlation analysis indicated that the chondral injury incidence increased with the increasing of the slope angle (r=0.611, P=0.000; r=0.852, P=0.000). The incidence of chondral injury was 69.1% (56/81) and 48.1% (39/81) in groups A and B respectively, showing significant difference (χ2=7.356, P=0.007). The sublevel analysis showed that the chondral injury incidence of group A (36.1%, 13/36) was significantly higher than that of group B (0) at 0-30°(χ2=15.864, P=0.000), but no significant difference was found between group A (95.6%, 43/45) and group B (86.7%, 39/45) at 45-90°(P=0.267). ConclusionIt has more risk of chondral injury to use Rigidfix femoral fixation device via the anteromedial approach than the tibial tunnel approach to reconstruct ACL.