Background and rationale {6a}
arthrometer, knee laxity
KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS, COMPLICATION
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) acts as the primary static constraint to anterior translation and internal rotation of the tibia [Recently, the use of suture tape (a modified suture composed of non-absorbable, braided polyethylene/polyester suture) acting as a ‘seatbelt’ for in situ autograft has been proposed [The primary research objective is to determine whether the use of suture-tape augmentation of a primary hamstring autograft ACLR improves post-operative residual knee laxity. At present, the literature surrounding suture tape augmentation of ACLR is primarily biomechanical and animal model-based, with two retrospective cohort, non-randomised studies reporting subjective outcomes published. This study aims to collect a higher level of evidence, as well as objective measures of post-operative knee laxity among suture tape ACLR patients.The null hypothesis of this study is that there will be no significant difference in side-to-side residual anterior knee laxity, as measured with the GNRB arthrometer, as compared with the contralateral knee at 2 years post-operatively. Secondary outcomes will be graft failure, complication rates, clinical examination findings and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) including Knee Osteoarthritis and Outcomes Score Quality of Life subscale (KOOS-QOL) [The study aims to investigate whether suture-tape augmented anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction has superior results to non-augmented reconstructions.