Alternative Techniques of Ligament Reconstruction in Patients with Combined Cruciate and Postero-lateral Corner Injuries of the Knee

Abstract

Background. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of the patients with multiligament knee injuries. A significant proportion of unsatisfactory outcomes of such injuries treatment is associated with this injury features and the objective difficulties of its surgical correction. This determines the need for searching the optimal methods of diagnosis and treatment of such an injury. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of surgical treatment of the patients with multiligament knee injury, including the injury of the ligament-tendon complex of the knee posterolateral angle with two different techniques. Materials and Methods. The study included 51 patients with multiligament knee injury undergone the surgical treatment from 2007 to 2019. The average age of the patients was 32.1±9.2 years. The patients were divided into two groups. The patients of the main group (24 patients) underwent reconstruction of the cruciate ligaments and the main structures of the posterolateral angle: the fibular collateral ligament, the popliteofibular ligament, and the popliteus tendon. The patients of the comparison group (27 patients) underwent the reconstruction of the cruciate ligaments supplemented with isolated fibular collateral ligament grafting. The results obtained were evaluated clinically using the Lysholm scale (1982), by determining the subjective assessment of treatment outcomes, and by functional X-ray and MRI. The results of the treatment were studied in all injures: in the main group in 9 months, in the comparison group on average in 16 months after the surgery (from 9 to 43 months). Results. The use of the developed diagnostic and surgical methods made it possible to improve the clinical and functional results by the Lysholm scale: the main group 82 [70; 86] points vs the control group 68 [64; 76] points (p = 0.003). The II degree residual lateral instability was observed in 2 patients of the main group and in 7 patients of the control. 19 (79.2%) patients in the main group and 18 (66.7%) in the control were satisfied with treatment outcomes according to the scale of subjective assessment. There were no patients who rated the result of their treatment as “good” in the both groups. Conclusion. The practical employment of the proposed modification of the fibular collateral ligament grafting by the LaPrade in the patients with multiligament knee injury makes it possible the statistically significant improvement of the treatment functional results after the reconstructive surgery in the medium term (9 months) compared with the patients undergone isolated fibular collateral ligament grafting. The unsatisfactory results of the treatment caused by the severity and morphological features of the injuries. They require further study, as well as the improvement of the surgical techniques.