Plantaris tendon: a novel graft for anterolateral ligament reconstruction and additional reinforcement for anterior cruciate ligament autografts in combined reconstructive procedures
Mario Josipović, Josip Vlaić, Jure Serdar, Marko Šimunović, Dinko Nižić, Zdravko Schauperl, Ivan Bojanić, Mislav Jelić
Abstract
The anterolateral ligament is recently recognized as an important structure in restoring rotational stability of the anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee. Biomechanical and clinical studies confirmed the benefits of concurrent anterior cruciate ligament and anterolateral ligament reconstruction. However, present techniques mostly use hamstring tendons autografts and therefore additionally disrupt the knee biomechanics. The plantaris tendon is a well known and accessible graft and has excellent biomechanical properties for anterolateral ligament reconstruction. The present paper describes a new combined anterior cruciate ligament and anterolateral ligament reconstruction technique using plantaris tendon and semitendinosus tendon.Level of evidence V (Case report).