Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tears: Quadriceps Tendon Graft Preparation

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tears: Quadriceps Tendon Graft Preparation

This video is a demonstration of a quadriceps graft preparation used in ACL reconstruction. Only the central portion of the quadriceps tendon is removed when the graft is harvested. The surgeon begins by securing the product card to a clamp. This card contains the adjustable suture device that will be attached to the graft.

One end of the quadriceps graft will be secured to the graft preparation board seen on the left, and the surgeon will place the clamp onto the other end of the graft. First, a needle is used to sew the free end of the sutures from the card onto the graft to secure the adjustable suture device to the graft. The surgeon will make several suture passes through the graft, making the attachment nice and strong.

Once all of these passes are completed, the sutures are tied into place and the needle is used to bury the knot into the graft tissue. The surgeon also trims off small portions of the end of the graft to improve its shape, making it easier to insert into the tunnels in the thigh bone and shin bone. The adjustable suture device is then removed from the card.

The surgeon then removes the graft and secures the metal button into the graft preparation board to prepare the other end of the graft. The same steps are repeated by attaching a card to the clamp and sewing the sutures through the graft to secure the adjustable suture device. The surgeon finishes the graft preparation by sliding the graft into a sizing tube to compress and shape the graft, before bringing it into the knee during the ACL reconstruction surgery.