Usefulness of Anteromedial Portal for Femoral Tunneling in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

전방십자인대 재건술시 대퇴골 터널에 있어 전내측 삽입구의 유용성

Purpose: Recent development and advances in the arthroscopic surgical techniques for anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) reconstruction have led to the ideal location for more oblique anatomic point of the femur from 10 to 10:30 o'clock(in the right knee) and from 2 to 1:30 o'clock(in the left knee) in the frontal plane. This study was performed to compare the operative methods and the radiologic results of the femoral tunnels made through the tibial tunnel(trans-tibial approach) and the anteromedial portal. Materials and Methods: From January 2003 to May 2004, on hundred reconstructions of ACL were performed. Group I(the femoral tunnel made through the tibial tunnel) consisted of 50 cases and group I(the femoral tunnel made through the anteromedial portal) consisted of 50 cases. The operative methods and the radiographic results of the femoral tunnels were compared. Results: Femoral tunnel was made more easily at more oblique anatomic point in group II than in group I. In group II, better visual field was achieved at the angle of 100? flexion of the knee joint, the risks of the posterior cortical breakage and the tunnel-graft mismatching were reduced more, and the divergence of femoral interference screw from the radiograph decreased more than in group I(p<0.05). The angle between the femoral tunnel and the longitudinal axis of ACL increased in group II. Conclusion: Anteromedial portal technique was useful for femoral tunneling toward 10 to 10:30 o'clock(in the right knee) and 2 to 1:30 o'clock(in the left knee) in ACL reconstruction. Level of Evidence:Level III, case-control study.