Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction success is dependent on several factors including fixation strength, anatomical placement, and the mechanical properties of the graft tissue. Currently it is unclear if tubularization of a quadruple hamstring graft is an effective way to increase its tensile strength.The purpose of this study was to quantify the impact of whip stitching as a form of suture tubularization on the mechanical properties of quadruple-strand hamstring anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using a femoral suspensory fixation. This study utilized bovine hamstring grafts, prepared as quadruple-strand hamstrings with and without tubularization. Each graft type was tested using a synthetic bone block model and a porcine tibia model to determine ultimate load, yield load, stiffness, and graft displacement at failure. The synthetic bone block model demonstrated that grafts with tubularization had statistically higher yield load then grafts without tubularization. The porcine model demonstrated that the ultimate load and yield load were found to be statistically similar between the graft groups but the tubularized group had greater stiffness when compared to untubularized grafts. In conclusion, our data shows that the effect of tubularization on a quadruple-strand hamstring graft with a femoral suspensory device positively effects the mechanical properties of the graft.