The question of which graft to use for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction continues to be debated at meetings around the world. The overall choice of grafts consists of autografts, allografts, and synthetic grafts ⁽¹⁾. By far the two most commonly used grafts are central third bone-patellar tendon-bone and hamstring tendon, either semitendinosus alone or semitendinosus combined with gracilis. The next most popular graft was quadriceps tendon, followed by allograft tendon. It is worth noting that there may be considerable geographic variation in the choice of graft for ACL reconstruction.

In selecting a graft for ACL reconstruction there are a number of factors that need to be considered ⁽²⁾. These factors need to be evaluated in regard to the patient’s occupation, the type of sport in which they are involved, their skeletal age, associated ligamentous pathology, the chronicity of the injury, and their inherent degree of ligamentous laxity. The reconstruction of an ACL is crucial to the longevity of any given athlete due to it’s importance in maintaining the stability of the knee, particularly in activities involving cutting, pivoting or kicking. People with ruptured ACL’s have unstable knees that generally become more damaged over time. Therefore, surgical reconstru-ction is vital for the athlete in order to get back to regular sport activity.

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