title: Hamstring graft preparation using a needleless suture loop.
abstract: Placement of running, locking stitches during the harvest and preparation of hamstring tendons can be time consuming and requires placement of suture in the most distal and proximal 2 to 3 cm of the tendons. The authors have regularly used a needleless suture loop technique to both harvest and prepare autograft gracilis and semitendinosis tendons and to tension quadrupled hamstring tendon grafts during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. This cost-effective technique reduces exposure to needles, the time required to harvest and prepare the grafts, and the amount of suture in the tibial tunnel, while providing adequate fixation to tension the tendons as needed.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. jocelynwittstein@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Jocelyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wittstein
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toth
mesh_terms: D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000601:surgery; D009339:Needles; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013537:Sutures; D013710:Tendons / Q000637:transplantation*; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome