[Research on strength of the grafts that are used in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction].

Reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) using autogenous tissue is a frequently performed procedure used to restore functional stability in ACL--deficient knees. The purpose of this study was to determine the structural mechanical properties of the ACL and the grafts that are used in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. We tested specimens of human tissue including: ACL, medial third patellar tendon B-PT-B, central third patellar tendon B-PT-B, gracilis tendon, semitendinosus tendon (single-stranded, double-stranded and quadrupled-stranded), distal iliotibial tract and plantaris tendon (single-stranded and double-stranded). Specimens were obtained at autopsy from 32 young male cadavers. Biomechanical tests were performed using the FPZ-100 machine (produced by VEB Rauenstein). The following grafts have shown higher values than ACL: quadrupled semitendinosus--229% of ACL, doubled semitendinosus--130% of ACL, central third patellar tendon B-PT-B--114% of ACL and medial third patellar tendon B-PT-B--107% of ACL. The following grafts have shown lower values than ACL: semitendinosus tendon--72% of ACL, gracilis tendon--49% of ACL, distal iliotibial tract--47% of ACL, doubled plantaris--18% of ACL and single plantaris--10% of ACL.