Optimal Orientation of the Femoral Tunnel in Reconstruction of Posterior Cruciate Ligament

Min, Byoung Hyun; Sohn, Keun Soo; Kang, Shin Young

Abstract

PURPOSE
We investigated the optimal orientation of femoral tunnel in PCL reconstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five cadaver knees were used for this study. We made the tibial tunnel at the center of foot-print of posterior cruciate ligament, at an angle of 45o to the long axis of the tibia using the Kirschner wire. The femoral tunnel was made 11mm posterior to the articular cartilage margin of medial femoral condyle. The orientation of the femoral tunnel was made on the expolated line between two points, namely the placement of the femoral tunnel on lateral wall of medial femoral condyle and the opening of the tibial tunnel in full extension of knee. We measured the angles between the tunnel and wire on roentgenogram which passed through the femoral and tibial tunnel. RESULT: On the anteroposterior view, the angle of the graft to the long axis of the femur became acute during flexion. The angle of the graft to the long axis of the femur on the coronal plane changed from 12.6o to 154.9o with flexion from 0o to 105o. The angle of the graft to the long axis of the femur on sagittal plane changed from 137.0o to 45.1o with flexion from 0o to 105o. These results suggest that optimal graft-tunnel divergence (GTD) is obtained when the angle of graft to the long axis of the femur are 83.8o on the coronal plane and about 91o on the sagittal plane.
CONCLUSION
To obtain optimal orientation of the femoral tunnel, the opening of the femoral tunnel should be located as near as possible to the margin of the articular cartilage of the medial femoral condyle.