FIGURE 1:

The surgical technique associated with an Achilles tendon allograft (Fig 1) is described in this section. The Achilles tendon connects the muscles of your calf to your foot at the heel. Unlike the patellar and hamstring tendons, It is not possible to take the Achilles tendon from you and can only be supplied as an allograft (from donor).

When prepared the Achilles tendon has bone at one end . This is the end that was originally attached to the heel. This bone plug is seen on the left of Figure 1. This differs from the patellar tendon which has bone at both ends and the hamstring tendon which has no attached bone.

The majority of the ACL reconstruction is the same regardless of the tissue used (patellar tendon, hamstring, or Achilles). To see a more detailed ACL reconstruction description see the patellar tendon technique page.

FIGURE 2:

However some small differences between the techniques do exist. When inserted the Achilles allograft should be oriented such that the end of the graft with the bone block is located in the tibial tunnel (Fig 2).

FIGURE 3:

Fixation is accomplished within both the femoral and tibial tunnels with a bioabsorbable cannulated interference screws. Tendon to bone fixation (Fig 3) and bone to bone fixation is accomplished in the femoral and tibial tunnels respectively. Postoperative rehabilitation is the same regardless of the tissue used.