Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common sporting injury, often managed surgically with patella-tendon or hamstrings autograft. Surgeons are under increasing pressure for open transparent assessment of their performance. Scoring systems can be used to assess outcome. More than 50 different scoring systems have been identified to assess the ACL deficient knee. The survey is investigating the use of ACL scoring systems between knee surgeons in the United Kingdom as a method of assessing performance.Introduction
Aims
Hamstring tendons are commonly used for Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction. In our series of 100 consecutive Hamstring ACL reconstructions, a four-strand graft was less than 7.0 mm in 5 patients. The aim of this study was to develop a screening test to assess the size of the hamstring tendon and so aid in the pre operative planning and patient counselling especially if hamstring size was deemed to be inadequate. A retrospective study of 100 consecutive hamstring ACL reconstructions analysed the correlation of the tendon size to height, weight and body mass index. A prospective double blind study was also set up involving independent observations by a musculoskeletal radiologist and the lead Orthopaedic surgeon. There was no correlation between the anthropometric measures and hamstring size in the retrospective study. A total of 27 limbs were assessed sonographically, in 26 patients. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was found to Pearson's r = 0.0786; p = 0.715. Pre-operative anthropometric measures and Ultrasound could not be used as a screening test to detect inadequate hamstrings in the clinical setting.Result
Conclusion
