Anterolateral ligament reconstruction with autologous grafting: a biomechanical study

To evaluate the reliability of the Iliotibial band compared to gracilis tendon as a graft to be used in anterolateral ligament reconstruction. METHODS: Gracilis tendon and a strip of Iliotibial band compared were harvested from 8 fresh human cadaveric knees. The gracilis tendon was prepared to obtain a graft of 10cm in length (Group 1). Iliotibial band compared was prepared to obtain a graft of 10cm in length and 0.5cm in width from the middle portion (Group 2). All the specimens were fixed on a servo hydraulic tensile machine with dedicated cryo-clamp. The loading protocol, used to compare the previously published results of ultimate failure load and Stiffness of the anterolateral ligament (Group 3), included a cyclic preconditioning between 10 and 25N at 0.1Hz for 10cycles and then a load to failure test at 20mm/min. FINDINGS: Gracilis tendon showed higher Ultimante Failure Load and stiffness when compared to a strip of Iliotibial band. Gracilis tendon and a strip of Iliotibial band compared showed higher Ultimante Failure Load and stiffness when compared with native anterolateral ligament as reported by Kennedy. INTERPRETATION: Both grafts tested in the present studies are suitable for an anatomical anterolateral ligament reconstruction. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. KEYWORDS: Anterolateral ligament; Biomechanics; Gracilis tendon; Ileotibial band