• Hemanth R Gadikota, Jia-Lin Wu, Jong Keun Seon, Karen Sutton, Thomas J Gill, and Guoan Li.
• Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
• Am J Sports Med. 2010 Apr 1; 38 (4): 713-20.

BackgroundAnatomical reconstruction techniques that can restore normal joint kinematics without increasing surgical complications could potentially improve clinical outcomes and help manage anterior cruciate ligament injuries more efficiently.HypothesisSingle-tunnel double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with anatomical placement of hamstring tendon graft can more closely restore normal knee anterior-posterior, medial-lateral, and internal-external kinematics than can conventional single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.Study DesignControlled laboratory study.MethodsKinematic responses after single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and single-tunnel double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with anatomical placement of hamstring tendon graft were compared with the intact knee in 9 fresh-frozen human cadaveric knee specimens using a robotic testing system. Kinematics of each knee were determined under an anterior tibial load (134 N), a simulated quadriceps load (400 N), and combined torques (10 N.m valgus and 5 N.m internal tibial torques) at 0 degrees , 15 degrees , 30 degrees , 60 degrees , and 90 degrees of flexion.ResultsAnterior tibial translations were more closely restored to the intact knee level after single-tunnel double-bundle reconstruction with anatomical placement of hamstring tendon graft than with a single-bundle reconstruction under the 3 external loading conditions. Under simulated quadriceps load, the mean internal tibial rotations after both reconstructions were lower than that of the anterior cruciate ligament-intact knee with no significant differences between these 3 knee conditions at 0 degrees and 30 degrees of flexion (P > .05). The increased medial tibial shifts of the anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knees were restored to the intact level by both reconstruction techniques under the 3 external loading conditions.ConclusionSingle-tunnel double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with anatomical placement of hamstring tendon graft can better restore the anterior knee stability compared with a conventional single-bundle reconstruction. Both reconstruction techniques are efficient in restoring the normal medial-lateral stability but overcorrect the internal tibial rotations.Clinical RelevanceSingle-tunnel double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with anatomical placement of hamstring tendon graft could provide improved clinical outcomes over a conventional single-bundle reconstruction.

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