Page 45 - Arthroscopic Knot Tying: An Instruction Manual

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French Knot (Fig. 23)

FIGURE 23. A-H. French knot.

FIGURE 23. (Continued)

The French knot (22 ) is a sliding knot that is a modification of the Duncan loop.

 Make the post limb half as long as the loop limb.
 Grasp the sutures between the thumb and index finger of your non-dominant hand (Fig. 23A ).
 Create a small circle in the loop strand by passing the loop over the combined post and loop
strands and hold it between your thumb and index finger (Fig. 23B ).
 Make a total of four loops around both the post and the loop limbs traveling toward the joint (Fig.
23C ).
 Pass the tail of the loop strand over and through the small circle in the loop strand that is held
between the thumb and index finger (Fig. 23D ).
 Pass the tail of the loop strand under and through the loop circle created by the distal end of the
loop strand and the combined limbs of the loop and post strands (Fig. 23E ).
 Pull on both the loop limb and the post limb symmetrically to tighten the knot (Fig. 23F ).
 Advance the knot by pulling on the post limb while pushing the knot down with the knot pusher on
the post strand (Fig. 23G ).
 Lock the knot with a series of three alternating half hitches with post switching (Fig. 23H ).
o Throw an underhand loop on the original post. Tension with the knot pusher.
o Switch posts.
o Throw an overhand loop over the new post. Tension with the knot pusher.
o Switch posts.
o Throw an underhand loop on the original post again. Tension with the knot pusher.

The French knot was shown to have a higher load to failure when compared to the Duncan loop and the
Revo knot (22 ).