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Combined anterolateral ligament and anatomic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction of the knee

  • Knee
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Although anatomic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is established for the surgical treatment of anterolateral knee instability, there remains a significant cohort of patients who continue to experience post-operative instability. Recent advances in our understanding of the anatomic, biomechanical and radiological characteristics of the native anterolateral ligament (ALL) of the knee have led to a resurgent interest in reconstruction of this structure as part of the management of knee instability. This technical note describes our readily reproducible combined minimally invasive technique to reconstruct both the ACL and ALL anatomically using autologous semitendinosus and gracilis grafts. This method of ALL reconstruction can be easily integrated with all-inside ACL reconstruction, requiring minimal additional operative time, equipment and expertise.

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Notes

  1. An online video demonstration of this combined technique can be viewed at: https://www.vumedi.com/video/combined-all-inside-acl-anterolateral-ligament-reconstruction/.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Arthrex for supplying materials, facilities and expertise during the cadaveric studies that led to this technique. We acknowledge Dodec Medical for producing the video demonstration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Aldermaston Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG24 9NA, UK

    James O. Smith, Sam K. Yasen, Breck Lord & Adrian J. Wilson

  2. Department of Sport and Exercise, Sport and Exercise Research Centre, University of Winchester, Winchester, SO22 4NR, UK

    James O. Smith, Sam K. Yasen, Breck Lord & Adrian J. Wilson

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  1. James O. Smith
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  2. Sam K. Yasen
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Correspondence to Adrian J. Wilson.

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A.J.W. is a consultant for Arthrex.

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Smith, J.O., Yasen, S.K., Lord, B. et al. Combined anterolateral ligament and anatomic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction of the knee. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 23, 3151–3156 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-015-3783-5

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