Description
There is evidence for an increased risk of nonanatomic tunnelpositioning by less experienced surgeons. Intraoperative fluoroscopic control could be a simple method to improve the precision of tunnel placement. The purpose of this study was to investigate wether low-volume surgeons can achieve precise femoral tunnel placement under fluoroscopic control similar to experienced mid- and high-volume surgeons.
Methods
• Retrospective study, n= 150, primary ACLR, time period 01/2021 – 03/2023
• 3 groups: high-volume surgeon, mid-volume surgeon and low-volume surgeon
• Analysis of the femoral tunnel position based on fluoroscopic images according to the quadrant method with the app "ACL-X"
Results
• All groups achieved high to excellent precision of femoral tunnel placement
• The variances of the tunnel placements did not show significant differences between the 3 groups
Conclusion
• High reproducibility and precision of femoral tunnel positioning regardless of the surgeon's experience
• Especially for low-volume-surgeons, intraoperative fluoroscopic control could be a simple way to improve the quality of care