Femoral tunnel widening is associated with tunnel malposition but not with clinical failure after medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction with a free gracilis tendon graft

Introduction MPFL reconstruction is widely and successfully used for treating patella instability, either as a standalone procedure or in combination. Although different techniques allow for MPFL reconstruction, the use of a free tendon graft is one of the most commonly used. The phenomenon of tunnel widening or tunnel enlargement is well described in ACL reconstruction, but so far only little effort has been put into evaluating this phenomenon after MPFL reconstruction.