Evaluation of Patellar Tendon with Shear Wave Elastography After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Using Hamstring Tendons

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the characteristics ofpatellar tendons (PTs) of patients who underwent anterior cruciateligament reconstruction (ACLR) with hamstring tendon autograftusing shear wave elastography (SWE).Patients and methods: This prospective study was conductedbetween August 2017 and February 2018. We performed brightnessmode (B-mode) ultrasound and SWE on 21 patients (20 males,1 female; mean age 32 years; range, 19 to 42 years) who underwentACLR with a single-bundle transtibial technique using quadruplehamstring autografts and 14 healthy controls (13 males, 1 female;mean age 35 years; range, 25 to 47 years). Length and thicknessof the PT were evaluated with B-mode ultrasound, while elasticityvalues were evaluated with SWE in the patient and control groups.Results: The mean SWE value of the patient group on the operatedside was 25.30 (min-max=16.60-46.20) and on the non-operatedside 23.20 (min-max=12.40-44). There were no statisticallysignificant differences regarding PT elasticity, thickness, or lengthbetween the groups (p>0.05).Conclusion: There were no differences regarding elasticity,length, or thickness between the operated and healthy kneesdetected with SWE. Upcoming research should focus on tendonbiopsy and biochemical analyses for the identification of possibleintrastructural changes of the tendon due to collagen synthesisafter ACLR with hamstring autograft.