Summary

In 2009, a reverse “Y” plasty anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction technique was proposed, with double-tibial tunnel and single-femoral tunnel, and the result obtained proved that the reverse “Y” plasty technique was satisfactory. This cadaveric study was designed to compare the reverse “Y” plasty reconstruction method with the conventional single-bundle technique for the first time.

In this study, 30 cadaveric knees were used and were randomly divided into five groups with six knees each. Six cadaveric knees with intact ACL were treated as the control group, and another six knees with ruptured ACL were treated as the rupture group. In group A, the single-bundle technique was used. In groups B and C, reverse “Y” plasty technique was used, and the grafts were fixed with absorbable biointerference screws in tibiae and absorbable biointerference screws (Group B) or Endobutton (Group C) in femora. Five groups were tested with an MTS material testing machine (MTS-858) by the use of a cyclic loading of 134 N at 15°, 30°, 60° and 90° of knee flexion and a combined 7-Nm valgus torque and 5-Nm internal tibial rotation torque at 15°, 30°, 45° and 60° of knee flexion.

Both single-bundle and reverse “Y” plasty groups demonstrated similar anterior–posterior stability compared with the control group, whereas the single-bundle group showed inferior rotational stability tested at 30° and 45° of knee flexion than the reverse “Y” plasty group and control group. These two different fixation methods at the femoral site (Group B and C) showed no difference in anterior–posterior and rotational stability.

The new reverse “Y” plasty ACL reconstruction method may restore normal knee stability, especially rotational stability, better than single-bundle reconstruction.

This study provides strong support for the new reverse “Y” plasty ACL reconstruction technique and is expected to propose a new surgical approach with good biomechanical features.