Allografts in the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament injuries

Symptomatic knee instability is a common complaint among athletic individuals after a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee. Allograft ACL reconstruction has gained popularity for primary and revision reconstructions. This graft choice has become popular with good intermediate term results combined with decreased operative times, hospital costs, and improved immediate postoperative pain and function. Intermediate follow-up has demonstrated similar results with autograft reconstructions, without the addition of donor site morbidity. Multiple allograft options exist for ACL reconstruction. The most commonly selected grafts include patellar tendon, Achilles tendon, and tibialis allografts. The use of a tibialis allograft provides a stout graft for reconstruction, while minimizing bone tunnel size. Bone-patella-bone allografts provide bone to bone fixation options with flexibility in tunnel selection sizing.