Experimental stability of a new implant-free fixation technique in ACL replacement

The purpose of the study is to establish data on the stability of an ACL re placement. In 40 human cadaver knees, either a mid patellar ligament third with a trapezoid bone block on one side was fixed on the femoral side in a 2-diameter drill hole, or a conventional interference screw fixation was ap plied. Average primary stability amounted to 570 N (+/- 100 N) for the bone -blocking technique, and to 402 N ( +/- 79 N) for the interference screw fi xation. When statistically tested by variance analysis, stability was signi ficantly higher for the bone blocking technique than with interference scre w fixation (p < 0.05). Thus, when using a mid-patellar ligament third for A CL reconstruction, the new implant-free technique described here appears to be a practical and reliable method for femoral graft fixation.