The "lateral gutter drive-through" sign revisited: a cadaveric study exploring its real mechanism based on the individual posterolateral structure of knee joints

Concomitant Popliteomeniscal Fascicles Tears Are Found in 21% of Professional Soccer Players With Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

Purpose

To investigate the incidence of popliteomeniscal fascicles (PMF) tears in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in professional soccer players, to describe arthroscopic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and treatment of these lesions with clinical outcomes, and to evaluate the incidence of subsequent lateral meniscus tears and ACL reinjury.

Methods

ACL reconstructions on soccer players were retrospectively analyzed, and among them, a cohort of patients with PMFs tears was reviewed. The cohort was assessed with MRI examination, arthrometric testing, Lysholm score, and International Knee Documentation Committee score. The occurrence of subsequent lateral meniscus tears and ACL reinjury were evaluated.

Results

A total of 208 ACL reconstructions were identified. From these, 43 male and 3 female subjects with a mean age of 24 ± 4.2 years were included. Median time from injury to surgery was 5 days. Preoperative MRI showed a tear of posterior PMFs in 24 of 47 knees (51.1%). The mean preoperative arthrometric measured laxity was 4.3 ± 1.65 mm, and postoperatively 0.1 ± 1.1 mm. Preoperative Lysholm score and International Knee Documentation Committee score were, respectively, 50.4 ± 25.4 and 39.6 ± 5, and postoperatively 98 ± 2.4 and 73.6 ± 1.2. Mean time to return to play, at the same preoperative level for all patients, was 184 ± 41.7 days. One patient underwent ACL revision due to a reinjury 9 months after surgery, whereas no lateral meniscus tears occurred in the follow-up period.

Conclusions

PMF tears are found in approximately 20% of professional soccer players with acute ACL injuries. After ACL reconstruction and PMFs repair, outcomes including return to play are good, ACL retear is low, and recurrent lateral meniscus tears were not observed.

Level of Evidence

Level IV, therapeutic case series.

[Posterolateral instability of the knee joint]

The posterolateral corner of the knee is composed of a multilayered complex of ligamentous, musculotendinous, and capsular structures, which interact in a synergistic stabilizing manner with the central structures, particularly the posterior cruciate ligament. Injuries of the posterolateral corner are generally accompanied by rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament. Depending on the injured structures, injuries of the posterolateral corner result in posterolateral rotational instability alone (Fanelli A) or with lateral instability (Fanelli B/C). For rotational instability alone, isolated popliteus bypass is an effective procedure; with concomitant lateral instability in flexion, additional stabilization of the lateral collateral ligament is required. Most of the various available techniques are described as open reconstruction procedures. In recent years, arthroscopic techniques for posterolateral reconstruction have also been successfully developed.

Obesity Severity Predicts Patient Dissatisfaction After Total Knee Arthroplasty

BACKGROUND

Patient dissatisfaction has been reported in 15 to 20% of traditional total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures. While contemporary improvements may have positive effects on patient satisfaction, these may be offset by increasing obesity prevalence among patients who have knee osteoarthritis. We performed this study to determine whether obesity severity impacts patient-reported TKA satisfaction.

METHODS

We compared patient demographic characteristics, preoperative expectations, preoperative and minimum 1-year postoperative patient-reported outcome measures as well as postoperative satisfaction level among 229 patients (243 TKAs) who had World Health Organization (WHO) Class II or III obesity (group A), and 287 patients (328 TKAs) who had WHO classifications of normal weight, overweight, or Class I obesity (group B).

RESULTS

Group A patients were younger and had more severe preoperative back and contralateral knee pain, more frequent preoperative opioid medication use, and lower preoperative and postoperative patient-reported outcome measures (P < .01). A similar proportion of patients in both groups expected at least 75% improvement (68.5 versus 73.2%, P = .27). While satisfaction was higher than traditional reporting for both groups (89.4 versus 92.6%, P = .19), group A patients were less likely to be highly satisfied (68.1 versus 78.5%, P = .04) and were more likely to be highly dissatisfied (5.1 versus 0.9%, P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who have Class II and III obesity report greater TKA dissatisfaction. Additional studies should help determine whether specific implant designs or surgical techniques may improve patient satisfaction or whether preoperative counseling should incorporate lower satisfaction expectations for patients who have WHO Class II or III obesity.

Arthroscopic anatomy of the posterolateral corner of the knee: anatomic relations and arthroscopic approaches

INTRODUCTION

Although open-surgical techniques for the reconstruction of the posterolateral corner (PLC) are well established, the use of arthroscopic procedures has recently increased. When compared with open surgical preparation, arthroscopic orientation in the PLC is challenging and anatomic relations may not be familiar. Nevertheless, a profound knowledge of anatomic key structures and possible structures at risk as well as technical variations of arthroscopic approaches are mandatory to allow a precise and safe surgical intervention.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In a cadaveric video demonstration, an anterolateral (AL), anteromedial (AM), posteromedial (PM) and posterolateral (PL) portal, as well as a transseptal approach (TSA) were developed. Key structures of the PLC were defined and sequentially exposed during posterolateral arthroscopy. Finally, anatomic relations of all key structures were demonstrated.

RESULTS

All key structures of the PLC can be visualized during arthroscopy. Thereby, careful portal placement is crucial in order to allow an effective exposure. Two alternatives of the TSA were described, depending on the region of interest. The peroneal nerve can be visualized dorsal to the biceps femoris tendon (BT), lateral to the soleus muscle (SM) and about 3 cm distal to the fibular styloid (FS). The distal attachment of the fibular collateral ligament (FCL) can be exposed on the lateral side of the fibular head (FH). The fibular attachment of the popliteofibular ligament (PFL) is exposed at the tip of the FS.

CONCLUSION

Arthroscopy of the posterolateral recessus allows full visualization of all key structures of the posterolateral corner, which provides the basis for anatomic and safe drill channel placement in PLC reconstruction. A sufficient exposure of relevant anatomic landmarks and precise portal preparation reduce the risk of iatrogenic vascular and peroneal nerve injury.

An isolated Posterolateral corner injury with rotational instability and hypermobile lateral meniscus: a novel entity

Purpose

Although complete tear of the knee posterolateral corner (PLC) commonly occurs in combination with other knee ligamentous injuries, the incidence of isolated PLC injury was reported only 28% and overlooked in many cases. Nevertheless, an isolated PLC injury does not only provoke posterolateral instability, but also may be associated to hypermobile lateral meniscus. This study aims at showing the characteristics of isolated PLC injuries and to alert potential overlooked cases by describing their arthroscopic findings and clinical characteristics.

Methods

Seventy-one patients with a clinically proven isolated PLC injury who underwent knee arthroscopy were included in this study. Pre-operative symptoms and clinical signs at examination were recorded: Pain at the posterolateral aspect, feelings of instability, catching, locking; and for clinical signs: McMurray test, varus stress test in extension and at 30° of flexion, posterolateral drawer test at 30° and 80°, dial test at 30° and 80° of flexion. In terms of arthroscopic findings, systematic meniscal stability was performed to evaluate the presence of hypermobile lateral meniscus, “lateral drive through test” was also recorded in all cases.

Results

Positive Lateral Drive through test was found in 69 patients (95.8%). Hypermobile lateral meniscus was seen in all patients.

Conclusions

Hyper mobile lateral meniscus was concomitant with all isolated PLC injuries in our case series. As the typical arthroscopic characteristic, lateral drive through test positive were seen in 95.8%. In order to prevent overlooking this concomitant pathology, meticulous arthroscopic observation is crucial.

Level of evidence

Level IV.

Midterm Clinical Outcome of Combined Posterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction and Posterolateral Corner Surgery Using Second-Look Arthroscopic "Lateral Gutter Drive-Through" Test as an Adjunctive Evaluation

Objectives

The arthroscopic “lateral gutter drive‐through” (LGDT) sign is reported to diagnose popliteus tendon (PT) injury with high sensitivity and specificity. However, no study has provided a postoperative evaluation of combined posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and posterolateral corner (PLC) injuries using the LGDT test.

Methods

From January 2012 to January 2015, a total of 80 consecutive patients who underwent combined PCL reconstruction and PLC surgeries were identified. Fifty eligible patients were included in this study for evaluation with subjective scoring systems, physical examinations, posterior and varus stress radiographs, and second‐look arthroscopic surgeries during hardware removal operation.

Results

Forty‐nine patients were available for a mean of 31.5 ± 9.3 months follow‐up (range, 24.0–81.0 months). In terms of PLC injury pattern, there were 27 type A, 10 type B, and 12 type C patients, with 21 acute cases and 28 chronic cases. At the final follow‐up, subjective scores were all significantly improved. The side‐to‐side difference (SSD) of posterior tibial translation (PTT) improved from 18.4 ± 9.2 mm (range, 12.9–25.6 mm) to 5.2 ± 5.0 mm (range, −5.0−18.5 mm, P < 0.001), and the SSD of tibial external rotation by dial test (ER) decreased from 18.0° ± 14.4° (range, 13.0°–22.0°) to 1.2° ± 7.5° (range, −9.0°–22.0°, P < 0.001). In patients with type C injury, the SSD of the lateral opening decreased from 14.2 ± 6.6 mm (range, 22–10.2 mm) to 0.9 ± 3.1 mm (range, −4.4‐6 mm, P < 0.001). In a comparison between patients with positive and negative LGDT signs, the LGDT‐negative patients had significant superiority in subjective scores, SSD of PTT, and SSD of ER. The sensitivity and specificity of the LGDT test in detecting postoperative posterolateral rotational instability (PLRI) were calculated as 100% and 88.4%, respectively.

Conclusions

In the series of surgically treated patients with PCL and PLC injury: (i) patients had improved subjective and objective clinical outcome after combined PCL reconstruction and PLC surgery at a minimum of 24‐months follow‐up; and (ii) second arthroscopic LGDT sign testing had high sensitivity and specificity in detecting postoperative PLRI, and a positive LGDT sign was related with inferior subjective and objective results.

Current use of navigation system in ACL surgery: a historical review

PURPOSE

The present review aims to analyse the available literature regarding the use of navigation systems in ACL reconstructive surgery underling the evolution during the years.

METHODS

A research of indexed scientific papers was performed on PubMed and Cochrane Library database. The research was performed in December 2015 with no publication year restriction. Only English-written papers and related to the terms ACL, NAVIGATION, CAOS and CAS were considered. Two reviewers independently selected only those manuscripts that presented at least the application of navigation system for ACL reconstructive surgery.

RESULTS

One hundred and forty-six of 394 articles were finally selected. In this analysis, it was possible to review the main uses of navigation system in ACL surgery including tunnel positioning for primary and revision surgery and kinematic assessment of knee laxity before and after different surgical procedures. In the early years, until 2006, navigation system was mainly used to improve tunnel positioning, but since the last decade, this tool has been principally used for kinematics evaluation. Increased accuracy of tunnel placement was observed using navigation surgery, especially, regarding femoral, 42 of 146 articles used navigation to guide tunnel positioning. During the following years, 82 of 146 articles have used navigation system to evaluate intraoperative knee kinematic. In particular, the importance of controlling rotatory laxity to achieve better surgical outcomes has been underlined.

CONLUSIONS

Several applications have been described and despite the contribution of navigation systems, its potential uses and theoretical advantages, there are still controversies about its clinical benefit. The present papers summarize the most relevant studies that have used navigation system in ACL reconstruction. In particular, the analysis identified four main applications of the navigation systems during ACL reconstructive surgery have been identified: (1) technical assistance for tunnel placement; (2) improvement in knowledge of the kinematic behaviour of ACL and other structures; (3) comparison of effectiveness of different surgical techniques in controlling laxities; (4) navigation system performance to improve the outcomes of ACL reconstruction and cost-effectiveness.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV.

Arthroscopically Assisted Open Reduction-Internal Fixation of Ankle Fractures: Significance of the Arthroscopic Ankle Drive-through Sign

Standalone open reduction-internal fixation (ORIF) of unstable ankle fractures is the current standard of care. Intraoperative stress radiographs are useful for assessing the extent of ligamentous disruption, but arthroscopic visualization has been shown to be more accurate. Concomitant arthroscopy at the time of ankle fracture ORIF is useful for accurately diagnosing and managing syndesmotic and deltoid ligament injuries. The arthroscopic ankle drive-through sign is characterized by the ability to pass a 2.9-mm shaver (Smith & Nephew, Andover, MA) easily through the medial ankle gutter during arthroscopy, which is not usually possible with both an intact deltoid ligament and syndesmosis. This arthroscopic maneuver indicates instability after ankle reduction and fixation and is predictive of the need for further stabilization. Furthermore, when this sign remains positive after fracture fixation, it may guide the surgeon to further evaluate the adequacy of fixation for the possible need for further fixation of the syndesmosis or deltoid. We present the case of an ankle fracture managed with arthroscopy-assisted ORIF and describe the clinical utility of the arthroscopic ankle drive-through sign.

Anatomical popliteofibular ligament reconstruction of the knee joints: an all-arthroscopic technique

Injuries to the posterolateral corner of the knee present with variable injury patterns that have produced a number of reconstructive procedures in the literature. The present paper describes an all-arthroscopic technique that anatomically reconstructs the popliteofibular ligament (PFL) using either a semitendinosus autograft or an anterior tibialis allograft. During the surgery, the fibular insertion site as well as the distal portion of PFL is feasible to be identified under arthroscopy without any additional skin incision. Level of evidence V.

Outcome of the treatment of chronic isolated and combined posterolateral corner knee injuries with 2- to 6-year follow-up

INTRODUCTION

Injuries of the posterolateral corner (PLC) of the knee are rare. They are difficult to diagnose and can cause severe disability. This study presents the 20- to 70-month clinical and radiological outcomes of the anatomical reconstruction technique of LaPrade et al.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-one patients with chronic PLC injuries underwent anatomical PLC reconstruction. The anatomical locations of the popliteus tendon, fibular collateral ligament, and popliteofibular ligament were reconstructed using a 2-graft technique. The patients were evaluated subjectively with the Tegner, Lysholm, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective knee scores and objectively with the IKDC objective scores; additionally, varus stress radiographs were taken to evaluate knee stability.

RESULTS

Significant (p < 0.05) improvements were observed in the postoperative Lysholm, IKDC-s, and Tegner scores compared with preoperatively. The IKDC objective subscores (lateral joint opening at 20° of knee extension, external rotation at 30° and 90°, and the reverse pivot-shift test) had improved significantly at the time of the final 40.9 ± 13.7-month follow-up. Lateral compartment opening on the varus stress radiographs had decreased significantly in the postoperative period. However, there was still a significant difference compared with the uninjured knee. There was no significant improvement in the IKDC-s, Lysholm, or Tegner scores between the nine patients with isolated PLC injuries and twelve with multi-ligament injuries.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant improvement in the objective knee stability scores and clinical outcomes with anatomical reconstruction showed that this technique can be used to treat patients with chronic PLC injured knees. However, longer-term multicentre studies and studies with larger groups comparing multiple techniques are required to determine the best treatment method for PLC injuries.