Morphometric side-to-side differences in human cruciate ligament insertions

Graft placement in cruciate ligament reconstruction is known to significantly influence postoperative knee stability and range of motion. Improvement of bone tunnel positioning has been advocated by computer-assisted surgical procedures that require reliable input and reference data. This study validates the hypothesis that morphometric reference data can be obtained from the uninjured controlateral knee for accurate bone tunnel and graft positioning. Thirty pairs of human cadaver knees were dissected and the femoral and tibial footprints of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments (PCL) were radiopaquely marked. Radiographs were taken of the corresponding left- and right-sided femora and tibiae, and digitally processed. Controlateral specimens were mirrored and overlapped precisely, the areas and intersections of ligament insertion were digitally determined. There were no significant differences in the total area of cruciate ligament insertion between left and right knee specimens or between female and male specimens. Intersection areas (IAs) in femoral and tibial anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) insertions averaged 31.3 and 33.4% of the total insertion area, respectively. The center of gravity for the femoral and tibial ACL footprint differed by 4.7 and 4.5 mm between left and right knees, respectively. IAs in femoral and tibial PCL insertions averaged 46.1 and 61.3% of the total insertion area, respectively. The center of gravity for the femoral and tibial PCL footprint differed by 4.5 and 2.4 mm between left and right knees, respectively. Our study does not support the concept of obtaining morphologic reference data from the uninjured controlateral knee for individual bone tunnel placement.