Clinical evaluation of double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction procedure using hamstring tendon grafts: a prospective, randomized and controlled study

Background In clinical studies there is still a lot of controversy about the increased anterior and rotational stability between double-bundle (DB) and single-bundle (SB) anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical results of four-tunnel DB ACL reconstruction.Methods Sixty-four consecutive patients with ACL ruptures from May 2005 to May 2006 were randomly assigned into two groups: 32 cases for SB ACL reconstruction and 32 cases for DB ACL reconstruction. Clinical data, including KT 2000, Biodex test, Lysholm score, Tegner score and IKDC score, were prospectively collected until at least 10 months post-operative.Results The average values of KT 2000 were (1.47±1.17) mm and (1.68±1.14) mm for the SB and DB ACL reconstruction groups at 30° of knee flexion (P >0.05), and were (1.04±0.98) mm and (1.13±0.98) mm at 90° of knee flexion (P>0.05). There were also no significant differences in Lysholm score, Tegner score, IKDC score and Biodex test scores between the two groups (P>0.05). The operation time of DB ACL reconstruction was 20 minutes longer than the SB ACL reconstruction (P<0.05)Conclusion Double bundle ACL reconstructions have no obvious clinical advantages over single bundle ACL reconstructions.