Relationship between graft failure following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and hamstring autograft diameter

Abstract

With the increase in the number of individuals participating in sports, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are also increasing gradually and the number of patients requiring surgical treatment is increasing in parallel. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the need for revision surgery and graft diameter following primary ACL reconstruction (ACLR) using hamstring autografts. The secondary aim of the study was to clarify relationships between anthropometric characteristics and graft diameter. Patients who underwent ACLR with hamstring autografts were included in this retrospective study. The age, body mass index, height, and weight of all patients were recorded preoperatively and the diameters of the grafts were recorded during surgery. The relationship between revision rate and graft diameter and the relationships between anthropometric measurements and graft diameter were investigated for these patients at least one year after surgery.

This study included 58 people with graft diameters of ≤7 mm and 261 people with graft diameters of >7 mm. A statistically significant difference was found between the graft diameters of the group that needed revision surgery and the group that did not (p<0.001). A positive relationship was also found between the patient’s height and graft diameter (r=0.168). In this study, it was found that the risk of ACL revision surgery increased by 5.5 times among patients with graft diameters of ≤7 mm. The positive relationship between the patient’s height and graft diameter can make a significant difference in terms of the need for revision surgery.