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Background: In posterolateral corner (PLC) injuries in which the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) is intact, there is controversyabout whether reconstructing the popliteus tendon (POP), the popliteofibular ligament (PFL), or both structures (POP + PFL) isrequired to restore normal external tibial rotation.Hypothesis: Three reconstruction techniques, POP, PFL, and POP 1 PFL, are able to restore external tibial rotation to normal.Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.Methods: Six nonpaired human knees were tested under the following states: POP and PFL intact and sectioned. The 3 differentsurgical techniques were used to reconstruct the sectioned structures, and the knees were retested. Each knee was subjected toa 5-N⋅m external rotation torque and tested at 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, and 120° of flexion. A navigation system was used to measuremotion changes of the tibia with respect to the femur.Results: There were small but significant increases in external rotation after sectioning both the POP and PFL. Sectioning of eitherone of these structures alone produced smaller increases that were not significant. After comparing all of the tested reconstructedstates to the intact state, there were significant differences at knee flexion angles from 30° to 90°. The PFL procedure restoredexternal tibial rotation without significant differences compared with the intact knee at 30° to 90° of flexion. The POP and POP +PFL techniques significantly overconstrained external tibial rotation at all tested angles.Conclusion: In an LCL-intact PLC injury model, the POP and PFL function as a unit in resisting external rotation. All surgical proceduresdescribed and tested were able to reduce the increased external rotational laxity found in the sectioned state. The PFLreconstruction technique was able to restore external rotation to near normal. However, the techniques involving POP reconstructionoverconstrained external rotation during laxity testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports a study which was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the early clinical outcomes of patients with valgus instability of knee joints who had undergone superficial medial collateral ligament (sMCL) reconstruction using Achilles tendon allografts. The result revealed that surgical management with sMCL reconstruction effectively restored the valgus laxity of the knee. The subjective functional results significantly improved at early-stage follow-up postoperatively.

Background: A special type of repairable meniscal lesion involving the peripheral attachment of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus is commonly associated with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency and is termed a ‘‘ramp lesion.’’ However, there are no previously published articles reporting the epidemiologic characteristics of ramp lesions.Hypothesis: The ramp lesion is a special type of medial meniscal tear with high prevalence associated with anterior cruciate ligament rupture; the prevalence increases with time from anterior cruciate ligament injury. Age and gender are risk factors affecting the prevalence of the ramp lesion.Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods: From April 2002 to October 2007, 868 consecutive knees were diagnosed as having an anterior cruciate ligament injury and received arthroscopic surgery for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. All the patients had verified tears of the ramp area under arthroscopy. The prevalence of the ramp lesion was evaluated retrospectively. Then, all cases were divided into different groups depending on the time interval from anterior cruciate ligament injury to anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and other relevant risk factors such as age and gender. The effects of age, gender, and time from injury on the prevalence of ramp lesions were analyzed.Results: Among 868 knees that underwent surgery for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, 144 knees were diagnosed as having a ramp lesion. The mean age was 24.7 years; there were 113 male and 31 female patients. The mean time from injury to anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was 27.2 months. The prevalence of ramp lesions was 16.6%, which was analyzed as a logarithmic correlation with time from injury. Patients younger than 30 years of age and male patients had a significantly higher prevalence of ramp lesions.Conclusion: The ramp lesion is a common meniscal injury that can occur at the time of anterior cruciate ligament rupture or as a result of knee laxity associated with anterior cruciate ligament insufficiency. The prevalence of ramp lesion in this patient group was 16.6%, which increased with time until 24 months after initial injury. Patients younger than 30 years of age and male patients had a higher prevalence of ramp lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]