Computed Tomography Assessment of Tibial Tunnel after Arthroscopic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Background: Knee injury becoming a common sport related injury of which anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) Injury is the most common. The graft placement at anatomical position is a major challenge during arthroscopic surgery. Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of computed tomography (CT) images is currently the best method to determine whether the ACL tunnel and grafts positioned correctly. The aim of this study is to assess the anatomical tibial tunnel positioning in patients after arthroscopic ACL reconstruction using CT scans. Material and Method: This wasa prospective study carried out over a period of 1 year on 39 patients in the age group of 19-52 year who underwent arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. Results: The tibial tunnel diameter between 7.5-8.5 mm and length of 3-4 cm and tibial tunnel - coronal angle of 55-65degree and sagittal angle of 40-50 degree was found in most of the patients. Most patients had position of tibial tunnel along anterior to posterior axis of 32-40% and position of tibial tunnel along medial to lateral axis of 44 to 50 %.Tibial tunnel position along high to low axis and deep to shallow axis were non-anatomical. Conclusion: Low percent of ACL reconstruction were in recommended anatomical position. CT scan is a very good tool to analyse tunnel position after ACL reconstruction.