Femoral condylar fracture through a femoral tunnel eleven years after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a case report

Research progress on preparation of lateral femoral tunnel and graft fixation in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most common types of sports injuries. People's need to participate in sports and desire for a high quality of life promotes the continuous development of ACL reconstruction technology. Arthroscopic ACL reconstruction has been recognized as an effective method for the treatment of ACL injuries. This review analyses and summarizes the advantages and limitations of each surgical procedure for arthroscopic ACL reconstruction reported in the relevant literature so as to promote the future development of more relevant techniques.

Arthroscopy Assisted Reduction and Internal Fixation of a Lateral Femoral Condyle Fracture after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction with Graft Salvage and Reinforced Suspensory Femoral fixation - A Case Report

Introduction:

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using hamstring tendon graft is a commonly performed orthopedic surgery. Lateral femoral condyle fracture through the femoral tunnel is a rare complication following ACL reconstruction. These cases are reported to be managed in two stages, fracture fixation by open reduction and internal fixation with bone grafting of the femoral tunnel, followed by revision ACL reconstruction after the fracture union.

Case Report:

A 41-year-old male Kabaddi player underwent right knee arthroscopic ACL reconstruction following an ACL tear in January 2021, sustained a road traffic accident 7 weeks later and developed a lateral femoral condyle fracture. The graft was intact and trapped into the fracture site making fracture reduction difficult. The graft was lax due to the fixed loop button being trapped in the fracture. The patient was treated in a single stage by arthroscopy assisted fracture reduction and fixation with ACL graft salvage and reinforced suspensory femoral graft fixation to plate suspensory fixation.

Conclusion:

This case is a rare presentation of lateral condyle fracture after ACL reconstruction and both the issues are managed in a single stage with the help of detailed surgical planning, using utmost arthroscopy skills and keeping all the options of fixation devices ready on the table during the surgery.

Uncommon Complications after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) is a common surgical procedure, with good outcome in 75 to 97% of the cases. However, different complications have been described including infection, hemarthrosis, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary embolism (PE) with a rate ranging from 1 to 15%. There are few case reports in the literature describing rare complications after ACL-R and they can be divided into: (1) complications related to the fixation device (rupture, migration); (2) fractures (tibial or femoral side); (3) infections due to uncommon bacteria, mycobacterium, and mycosis; (4) rare vascular injuries; (5) nerve injuries; and (6) other rare complications. In case of fixation device rupture or migration, device removal can be easy but the diagnosis may be challenging. Patellar fracture after ACL-R may be related to harvesting and it is not uncommon. Conversely, femoral or tibial fractures are most frequently due to bone weakness related to bone tunnels. Some rare infections related to uncommon bacteria or mycosis are also described with potentially devastating joint damage. Popliteal artery injuries are uncommon in ACL-R but minor vessels damages are described with possible severe consequences for patients. Injuries to the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve are not uncommon in ACL-R. However, there are few case reports also describing injuries to the saphenous nerve, the common peroneal nerve and the sciatic nerve. The aim of this paper is to review the literature describing uncommon complications after ACL-R, giving some more information about diagnosis and treatment.

Periprosthetic total knee fracture after remote reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament: a case report

Background

Distal femoral fracture is a rare, but significant, postoperative complication of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. However, there has not been a reported case of periprosthetic total knee arthroplasty fracture associated with a previous anterior cruciate ligament repair.

Case presentation

We report the case of a 51-year-old white man with a history of total knee arthroplasty and remote anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, who presented with a distal femoral periprosthetic fracture at the site of a previous anterior cruciate ligament augmentation staple.

Conclusions

Based on these findings, it may be important to consider removal of previous anterior cruciate ligament hardware prior to total knee arthroplasty to reduce risk of periprosthetic fracture, which should be determined on a patient-specific basis.

Intraoperative Hoffa fracture during primary ACL reconstruction: can hamstring graft and tunnel diameter be too large?

Intraoperative fracture during tunnel placement in primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is rarely reported. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of an intraoperative distal femoral coronal plane (Hoffa) fracture that occurred during independent femoral tunnel drilling and dilation in a primary ACL reconstruction. The patient was treated with open reduction and internal fixation, without compromise of graft stability and with good recovery of function. We discuss the potential ramifications of such a complication in the context of the current emphasis placed on large graft and femoral tunnel sizes.

Peri-anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction femur fracture: a biomechanical analysis of the femoral tunnel as a stress riser

PURPOSE

Sixteen case reports of distal femur fractures as post-operative complications after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction have been described in the literature. The femoral tunnel has been suggested as a potential stress riser for fracture formation. Additionally, double bundle ACL reconstructions may compound this risk. This is the first biomechanical study to examine the significance of a stress riser effect of the femoral tunnel(s) after ACL reconstruction. The hypotheses tested in this study are that the femoral tunnel acts as a stress riser for fracture and that this effect increases with the size of the tunnel (8 mm vs. 10 mm) and with the number of tunnels (1 vs. 2).

METHODS

Femoral tunnels simulating single bundle (SB) hamstring graft (8 mm), bone-patellar tendon-bone graft (10 mm), and double bundle (DB) ACL reconstruction (7, 6 mm) were drilled in fourth-generation saw bones. These three experimental groups and a control group consisting of native saw bones without tunnels were loaded to failure.

RESULTS

All fractures occurred through the tunnels in the DB group, whereas fractures did not consistently occur through the tunnels in the SB groups. The mean fracture load was 6,145N ± 471N in the native group, 5,691N ± 198N in the 8 mm SB group, 5,702N ± 282N in the 10 mm SB group, and 4,744N ± 418N in the DB group. The mean fracture load for the DB group was significantly lower when compared to the native, 8 mm SB, and 10 mm SB groups independently (P value = 0.0016, 0.0060, and 0.0038, respectively). The mean fracture loads for neither SB groups were not significantly different from the native group.

CONCLUSIONS

An anatomically placed femoral tunnel in single bundle ACL reconstruction in our experimental model was not a significant stress riser to fracture, whereas the two femoral tunnels in double bundle ACL reconstruction significantly decreased load to failure. The results support the sparsity of reported peri-ACL reconstruction femur fractures in single femoral tunnel techniques. However, the increased fracture risk in double bundle ACL reconstruction may be a cause for concern and impact patient selection.