Comparison of In Vivo Stiffness of Tendons Commonly Used for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction – A Shear Wave Elastography Study

Pasurka M, Falck T, Kubach J, Simon M, Söllner S, Strobel D, Perl M, Betsch M (2024)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal

Academic Radiology Elsevier

DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2024.01.037

Abstract

Rationale and Objectives: There are currently no studies investigating the in vivo stiffness of the most commonly used autografts for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) using Shear wave elastography (SWE). We hypothesize that there are differences regarding the elastic properties between the three tendons commonly used for ACLR and that they are influenced by patient-related factors. Materials and Methods: 80 healthy subjects (25 females, 55 males, age: 25.33 ± 4.76 years, BMI: 23.76 ± 3.14 kg/m2, 40 semiprofessional athletes, athlete group [AG], age: 25.51 [19–29]; 40 healthy controls, control group [CG], age: 25.50 [20–29]) were recruited as participants. In addition to patient reported outcome scores, every participant underwent a standardized multimodal ultrasound protocol consisting of B-mode-ultrasound (B-US), Color Doppler-ultrasound (CD-US) and a SWE examination of the bilateral quadriceps tendon (QT), patellar tendon (PT) and semitendinosus tendon (ST). Results: The highest shear wave velocity (SWV) were observed in ST (4.88 (4.35–5.52) m/s, ST vs QT, p = 0.005; ST vs PT, p < 0.001) followed by QT (4.61 (4.13–5.26) m/s, QT vs PT, p < 0.001) and PT (3.73 (3.30–4.68) m/s). Median QT, PT and ST stiffness was significantly higher in AG compared to CG. Male subjects tend to have stiffer QT and PT than female subjects. Positive correlation with SWV was obtained for age and activity level. Conclusion: There are significant differences regarding in vivo tendon stiffness between the most frequently used autograft tendon options for ACLR. The quantitative information obtained by SWE could be of particular interest for graft choice for ACLR.

Authors with CRIS profile

Mario Pasurka Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Joshua Kubach Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Michael Simon Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Stefan Söllner Unfallchirurgische Abteilung in der Chirurgischen Klinik Deike Strobel Medizinische Fakultät Mario Perl Lehrstuhl für Unfallchirurgie und Orthopädie Marcel Betsch Professur für Orthopädie und Orthopädische Chirurgie

How to cite

APA:

Pasurka, M., Falck, T., Kubach, J., Simon, M., Söllner, S., Strobel, D.,... Betsch, M. (2024). Comparison of In Vivo Stiffness of Tendons Commonly Used for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction – A Shear Wave Elastography Study. Academic Radiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acra.2024.01.037

MLA:

Pasurka, Mario, et al. "Comparison of In Vivo Stiffness of Tendons Commonly Used for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction – A Shear Wave Elastography Study." Academic Radiology (2024).

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