ArticleArchives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery2024
A novel surgical technique for revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using an isolated rectus femoris tendon autograft.
Article in Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Rectus Femoris Tendon Autograft in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Beyond the quadriceps tendon: The rectus femoris as a distinct autograft for knee ligament reconstruction-A narrative review.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2026Review
- The Rectus Femoris Tendon Graft for ACL Reconstruction: Predictive Anthropometry and Surgical Pearls Based on a Prospective Case Series.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Harvesting the tendon of the rectus femoris muscle as a graft for reconstructive ligament surgery on the knee joint.Operative Orthopadie und Traumatologie · 2026Review
- The Rectus Femoris Tendon as a Graft for Combined ACL and Anterolateral Reconstruction: A Biomechanical Evaluation.The American journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Higher arterial supply in the distal quadriceps tendon: Results from 7-Tesla quantitative magnetic resonance imaging, histology and high-resolution computed tomography.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2026Article
- Combined Reconstruction of the Medial Patellofemoral Ligament and the Medial Quadriceps Tendon-Femoral Ligament Using Rectus Femoris Tendon Autograft.Arthroscopy techniques · 2026Article
- Continuous Bone-Quadriceps Tendon-Rectus Femoris Autograft for Revision Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Anterolateral Ligament Reconstructions.Arthroscopy techniques · 2025Article
- Revision Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Using Rectus Femoris or Hamstring Tendon Shows Comparable Patient-Reported Outcome Measurements at Short-Term Follow-Up: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Rectus Femoris Tendon Harvesting: Step-by-Step Open Technique.Video journal of sports medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionOnly a few anatomic studies have described an isolated rectus femoris tendon autograft for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. This study aims to demonstrate a new surgical technique utilising the rectus femoris tendon for ACL reconstruction. This study hypothesises that the rectus tendon autograft will yield satisfying postoperative outcomes in terms of stability, with minimal complications at the harvest site.
methodsThis retrospective study investigated the outcomes of 28 revision ACL reconstructions using a rectus tendon autograft with a mean follow-up of 41.7 (range, 24.0-64.8) months. A 3 cm longitudinal incision was used to harvest the rectus tendon with an open tendon stripper. Intraoperative collected data included the length of the tendon and thickness of a 4-fold graft. Further outcome parameters include anterior cruciate ligament stability and range of motion. Additionally, postoperative complications, especially donor site morbidity, were documented in type and frequency.
resultsThe mean tendon length measured 32.4 cm (range, 30-35 cm). After preparing a 4-fold graft, the mean diameter was 9.2 mm (range, 8.0-10 mm) at the tibial and 9.0 mm (range, 7.5-10 mm) at the femoral end. Stability evaluated by the Lachman test improved significantly from 2 (Interquartile range (IQR), 2-3) preoperatively to 0 (IQR, 0-1) postoperatively (p < .001). Rerupture of the anterior cruciate ligament graft was observed in 2 patients (7.1%). Four patients showed a persistent extension deficit of about 5 degrees postoperatively. Two of them underwent revision surgery due to a Cyclops lesion. Only one patient complained of prolonged pain at the harvest site (3.6%).
conclusionThe 4-fold rectus tendon represents a novel autograft technique in revision ACL reconstruction. This study provides evidence of appropriate graft dimensions and satisfying postoperative outcomes regarding stability. The technique is associated with a low complication rate at the harvest site. STUDY
designCase series; Level of evidence, IV.
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