The American journal of sports medicine
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Cortical button fixation at the femoral side and interference screws within the tibial bone tunnel are widely used for anterior cruciate ligament graft fixation. Using a bone socket instead of a full tunnel allows cortical button fixation on the tibial side as well. If adjustable-length loop cortical button devices are used for femoral and tibial fixation, the tendon graft has to be secured with sutures in a closed tendon loop. The increased distance of fixation points and potential slippage of the tendon strands at the securing sutures might lead to greater risk of postoperative graft elongation when compared with conventional graft preparation with tibial interference screw fixation. ⋯ The results of this biomechanical study suggest that grafts with tibial interference screw fixation provide better knee stability at time zero because of reduced graft elongation and greater stiffness in comparison with grafts with tibial adjustable-length loop cortical button fixation.