Transportal versus transtibial drilling technique of creating femoral tunnel in arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using hamstring tendon autograft.

Drilling of femoral tunnel by transtibial technique is widely used in arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Recent studies suggest in this technique graft is placed in non-anatomical position leading to instability. If the femoral tunnel is drilled through an anteromedial portal (transportal technique), graft can be placed more anatomically leading to better knee stability theoratically. The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical outcome of transtibial technique and transportal technique for drilling of femoral tunnel in arthroscopic ACL reconstruction using hamstring tendon autograft. All patients operated between January 2009 and September 2011 were approached for eligibility. Blinded assessment of IKDC score, Lachman test, pivot shift test, time of recovery from surgery were obtained from both the transtibial and transportal groups. The transportal group shows significantly better IKDC score, higher anteroposterior knee stability by Lachman test and lower recovery time from surgery.