Bioabsorbable interference screws can be used with less tunnel widening in anatomic rectangular tunnel anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a bone-patellar-tendon-bone graft.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to investigate postoperative tunnel widening after rectangular tunnel bone-patellar-tendon-bone graft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using newer-generation bioabsorbable interference screws.

METHODS

Forty-six patients who had undergone primary rectangular tunnel bone-patellar-tendon-bone graft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using MILAGRO bioabsorbable interference screws (DePuy Synthes, Warsaw, IN, USA) for femoral fixation and for whom computed tomography was performed at two weeks and one year postoperatively were included in this prospective study. To assess the tunnel widening, the cross-sectional area of the femoral tunnel aperture (compared between two weeks and one year postoperatively) was assessed using computed tomography. Cyst formation, postoperative screw breakage, screw migration, and graft migration were also evaluated using computed tomography one year postoperatively.

RESULTS

Mean tunnel widening was 1.9%, and the cross-sectional area of the femoral tunnel aperture was not significantly different between two weeks and one year postoperatively. Postoperative cyst formation, screw breakage, screw migration, and graft migration were not observed in any patient.

CONCLUSIONS

After rectangular tunnel bone-patellar-tendon-bone graft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using bioabsorbable interference screws for femoral fixation, tunnel widening was not observed via computed tomography analysis at two weeks and one year postoperatively.