Background: Graft choice for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) has been evolving. The peroneus longus tendon (PLT) has been seen as a suitable choice for ACLR, providing comparable results to those of hamstring tendon (HT) autograft, but its clinical relevance in terms of return to sports, to our knowledge, has not been studied.
Methods: Two hundred and thirty-two patients who sustained an isolated ACL injury were enrolled and underwent ACLR using doubled PLT autograft or quadrupled HT autograft; 158 were followed for 24 months. Functional scores (International Knee Documentation Committee [IKDC] and Tegner-Lysholm scores) were assessed preoperatively and at 3,6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Graft diameter and graft harvesting time were measured intraoperatively. Donor-site morbidity was evaluated using subjective evaluation. Time to return to sports in both groups was compared.
Results: The mean diameter of PLT autograft was significantly larger than that of HT autograft, and the mean graft-harvesting time was less (p < 0.001). Patients in the PLT group returned to sports a mean of 34 days earlier than those in the HT group (p < 0.001) and had a lower rate of donor-site morbidity and, at 6 months, better patient-reported outcomes at the knee (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between the groups in the rate of graft rupture or in IKDC and Tegner-Lysholm scores at the 24-month follow-up.
Conclusions: PLT is a suitable autograft for ACLR in terms of graft diameter and graft-harvesting time and may offer athletes an earlier return to sports related to better outcomes at 6 months of follow-up. HT autograft was associated with increased thigh weakness. Both grafts, however, performed similarly at 24 months postoperatively.
Level of evidence: Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
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