Evaluation of patellar tendon with shear wave elastography after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using hamstring tendons
Nazmi Bülent Alp1
, Gökhan Akdağ1, Tufan Kaleli2, Aslı Ceren Macunluoğlu3, Nail Uzunlulu4
1Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Istanbul Bahçelievler State Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
2Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Bursa Uludag University School of Medicine, Bursa, Turkey
3Department of Biostatistics, Uludağ University, Institute of Health Sciences, Bursa, Turkey
4Department of Radiology, Health Sciences University, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Keywords: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, hamstring tendon, patellar tendon, shear wave elastography
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the characteristics of patellar tendons (PTs) of patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with hamstring tendon autograft using shear wave elastography (SWE).
Patients and methods: This prospective study was conducted between August 2017 and February 2018. We performed brightness mode (B-mode) ultrasound and SWE on 21 patients (20 males, 1 female; mean age 32 years; range, 19 to 42 years) who underwent ACLR with a single-bundle transtibial technique using quadruple hamstring autografts and 14 healthy controls (13 males, 1 female; mean age 35 years; range, 25 to 47 years). Length and thickness of the PT were evaluated with B-mode ultrasound, while elasticity values were evaluated with SWE in the patient and control groups.
Results: The mean SWE value of the patient group on the operated side was 25.30 (min-max=16.60-46.20) and on the non-operated side 23.20 (min-max=12.40-44). There were no statistically significant differences regarding PT elasticity, thickness, or length between the groups (p>0.05).
Conclusion: There were no differences regarding elasticity, length, or thickness between the operated and healthy knees detected with SWE. Upcoming research should focus on tendon biopsy and biochemical analyses for the identification of possible intrastructural changes of the tendon due to collagen synthesis after ACLR with hamstring autograft.
Citation: Alp NB, Akdağ G, Macunluoğlu AC, Uzunlulu N, Kaleli T. Evaluation of patellar tendon with shear wave elastography after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using hamstring tendons. Jt Dis Relat Surg 2020;31(1):137-142.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.