Biomechanical Effects of Aspect Ratio of the Knee during Outside-In Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Surgery

We analyzed tunnel length, graft bending angle, and stress of the graft according to tunnel entry position and aspect ratio (ASR: ratio of anteroposterior depth to mediolateral width) of the articular surface for the distal femur during single-bundle outside-in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) surgery. We performed multiflexible body dynamic analyses with four ASR (98, 105, 111, and 117%) knee models. The various ASRs were associated with approximately 1 mm changes in tunnel length. The graft bending angle increased when the entry point was far from the lateral epicondyle and was larger when the ASR was smaller. The graft was at maximum stress, 117% ASR, when the tunnel entry point was near the lateral epicondyle. The maximum stress value at a 5 mm distance from the lateral epicondyle was 3.5 times higher than the 15 mm entry position, and the cases set to 111% and 105% ASR showed 1.9 times higher stress values when at a 5 mm distance compared with a 15 mm distance. In the case set at 98% ASR, the low-stress value showed a without-distance difference from the lateral epicondyle. Our results suggest that there is no relationship between the ASR and femoral tunnel length. A smaller ASR causes a higher graft bending angle, and a larger ASR causes greater stress in the graft.

Automated summary

In this study, we analyzed the relationship between femoral tunnel length, graft bending angle, and stress with respect to tunnel entry position and ASR during ACLR surgery. Results showed that ASR did not affect femoral tunnel length, with smaller ASR leading to higher graft bending angle and larger ASR causing greater stress in the graft.