ABSTRACT
Total anterior-posterior translation is commonly used to assess the integrity of the cruciate ligaments and the success of reconstructive surgery. The purpose of this study was to determine, after surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament with a biological graft, if total anterior-posterior translation correlated with graft length, cross-sectional area, or mechanical properties. These factors were investigated by analyzing data from three previous studies. These studies involved replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament in cynomolgus monkeys and goats, with free and vascularized patellar tendon autografts and both patellar tendon and anterior cruciate ligament allografts. Data were available at time periods of 6 and 12 months after surgery. We found statistically significant inverse correlations between the amount of anterior-posterior translation and cross-sectional area of a graft at the time of sacrifice. The Pearson correlation coefficients ranged from -0.966 (p < 0.002) to -0.830 (p < 0.05). We hypothesize that these correlations result from the following mechanism: the increased anterior translation reflects a slack graft; a slack graft is stress shielded by other structures about the knee; the reduced in vivo stresses on the graft modulate cellular metabolism in a way that over time produces a small cross-sectional area.
Subject(s)
Anterior Cruciate Ligament/physiopathology , Anterior Cruciate Ligament/surgery , Tendon Transfer/methods , Tendons/transplantation , Analysis of Variance , Animals , Anterior Cruciate Ligament/transplantation , Female , Goats , Macaca fascicularis , Male , Movement , Regression Analysis , Stress, Mechanical , Tensile Strength , Transplantation, Autologous/methods , Transplantation, Homologous/methods , Weight-BearingABSTRACT
The clinical diagnosis of knee ligament injuries requires the clinician to: 1) estimate the abnormal motion limits that occur in one or more of the six degrees of freedom that comprise three-dimensional motion; 2) determine the abnormal position (subluxation) of the medial and lateral tibiofemoral compartments; and 3) precisely define the anatomical structures injured and degree of that injury. To determine the clinician's ability to perform these tasks, we evaluated 11 knee surgeons' clinical examination for knee instability. The positions and motions included were measured in right-left cadaveric knees by a three-dimensional instrumented spacial linkage. We compared the clinicians' estimate of knee motion limits and subluxations with the actual measured values. Before and after the clinicians' examination, the three-dimensional limits of knee motion were measured in the knees in the laboratory under defined loading conditions. Also, in one knee, the ACL and superficial medial collateral ligament were cut and the examiners, none of whom were informed of the sectioning, were asked to arrive at a diagnosis. The results for all of the clinical instability tests were similar. There was wide variability between examiners in the starting position of knee flexion and tibial rotation and in the amount of tibial translation and rotation induced. Although some examiners displaced the knee to the maximal displacement limits obtained in the laboratory, others did not, by a substantial margin. This suggests a wide variation in the loads applied by examiners to the knee joint during the tests.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
