Cruciate ligament graft intra-articular distances.

Although the length of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments have been well characterized in the literature, we are not aware of any studies of the actual length of grafts used in reconstruction of these ligaments. We dissected and measured these distances for 18 cadaver knees of varying size and sex. The precise location of ideal guide pin placement was located based on current recommendations, and the intra-articular graft length was measured with a micrometer by two separate observers. We found that the average intra-articular graft length for the anterior cruciate ligament is 23.56 mm (SD, 0.98 mm), the posterior cruciate ligament is 30.72 mm (SD, 2.61 mm) and the patella tendon graft intertendinous distance is 43.33 mm (SD, 4.21 mm) We conclude that the intra-articular distance for cruciate ligament grafts is less than published values for the ligaments themselves, and that the patella tendon graft is of adequate length to be used for reconstruction of these ligaments.