The management of patellar dislocation syndrome has traditionally been difficult. There are no golden standard methods for patellar dislocations probably due to the many etiologies. However, it is known that medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) is damaged when the patella is dislocated. The purpose of this study is to examine whether our method of MPFL reconstruction is useful for the treatment of dislocated patellae and unstable patellae. Forty-six knees (43 patients) of 68 knees (65 patients) that were operated on using our surgical procedure for MPFL reconstruction with the advancement of the vastus medialis or the MPFL reconstruction with Insall's procedure were followed up for at least 5 years. The patient age ranged from 6 to 43 years. These knees consisted of six habitual dislocation patellae, twenty-six recurrent dislocation patellae, ten traumatic dislocation patellae, and four unstable patellae. The patients were evaluated pre-operatively and more than three times post-operatively at 6, 12, 36, 60, or 120 months. No patient experienced patellar dislocation after surgery. Their post-operative Kujala's scores were significantly improved. On conventional X-ray and on stress X-ray evaluations, the mean values for congruence angle, tilting angle, lateral shift ratio, medial stress shift ratio, and lateral stress shift ratio at the final follow-up (60 or 120 months) were demonstrated to be within the normal range. We conclude that our MPFL reconstruction method with the advancement of the vastus medialis or with Insall's procedure might be recommended for the treatment of habitual, recurrent, and indeed any other type of patellar dislocation, as well as for unstable patellae.

e investigated the clinical outcome of a reconstructive procedure of the medial patellofemoral ligament for the treatment of habitual or recurrent dislocation of the patella in four children (6 knees), with a minimum follow-up of four years. The technique involves transfer of the tendon of semitendinosus to the patella using the posterior onethird of the femoral insertion of the medial collateral ligament as a pulley. There was no recurrence of dislocation after surgery. The mean Kujala score at follow-up was 96.3 points. Radiological assessment showed that the congruence angle, the tilt angle and the lateral shift radio were restored to normal. The lateral and medial stress shift ratios and the Insall-Salvati ratio remained abnormal. We conclude that this technique can be recommended for the treatment of habitual or recurrent patellar dislocation in children, although hypermobility and patella alta are not fully corrected.

We present a new surgical technique of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) augmentation using autogenous hamstring tendons or allogenic fascia lata under arthroscopy for patients in whom considerable ACL remnants with mechanoreceptors are preserved. We review the clinical results of 40 patients who underwent this ACL augmentation, as assessed by manual instability tests, KT-2000 knee arthrometer, Lysholm and Gillquist score, joint position sense and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and compare them with those of ACL reconstruction. The side-to-side differences of anterior displacement measured by the KT-2000 knee arthrometer at 30 lbs, an average of 5.3 +/- 2.6 mm preoperatively, was significantly improved to an average of 0.7 +/- 1.8 mm in the augmentation group, while an average of 6.0 +/- 2.4 mm was improved to 1.8 +/- 2.1 mm in the reconstruction group. There was no statistically significant difference between the preoperative values in the two groups, but the postoperative values of the augmentation group were significantly less than those of the reconstruction group. The ratio of anterior terminal stiffness of the augmentation group was 1.2 +/- 1.8, and that of the ACL reconstruction group was 0.7 +/- 0.4. This was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). Thus, as for the KT-2000 knee arthrometer, the ACL augmentation group showed significantly better anteroposterior stability and terminal stiffness than the ACL reconstruction group. The final inaccuracy of joint position sense of the augmentation group was 0.7 degrees +/- 0.7 degrees, while that of the reconstruction group was 1.7 degrees +/- 1.2 degrees indicating a significant difference (P < 0.05). This study demonstrates that ACL augmentation, which can preserve ACL remnants with mechanoreceptors, is superior to ACL reconstruction from the viewpoint of position sense and joint stability.

We studied 16 women 21-23 years old with regular menstrual cycles (28±4 days) and no history of knee injury. From their basal body temperatures and the serum concentrations of estradiol and progesterone, the follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases were delineated. Using a KT-2000 arthrometer, anterior displacement at 89 N and 134 N and anterior terminal stiffness (N/mm) at 134 N were measured two or three times every week over a 4-week period. Eight men 21-23 years old were also measured. In women the anterior displacement at 89 N varied between the follicular and the ovulatory phase and between the follicular and the luteal phase (P<0.05) and at 134 N between the follicular and the luteal phase (P<0.05). There were no statistical differences in the anterior displacement with time in men, nor in anterior terminal stiffness in either sex. We conclude that anterior cruciate ligament laxity in women might be dependent on the concentrations of hormones. et à 134 N entre la phase folliculaire et lutéale (p<0,05). Il n'y avait pas de différences statistiques dans le déplace-ment antérieur chez les hommes, ni dans la raideur terminale antérieure dans l'un et l'autre sexe. Nous concluons que la laxité du ligament croisé antérieur chez la femme peut être dépendante des concentrations hormonales. Résumé

We examined whether somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) were detectable after direct electrical stimulation of injured, reconstructed and normal anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) during arthroscopy under general anaesthesia. We investigated the position sense of the knee before and after reconstruction and the correlation between the SEP and instability. We found detectable SEPs in all ligaments which had been reconstructed with autogenous semitendinosus and gracilis tendons over the past 18 months as well as in all cases of the normal group. The SEP was detectable in only 15 out of 32 cases in the injured group, although the voltages in the injured group were significantly lower than those of the controls. This was not the case in the reconstructed group. The postoperative position sense in 17 knees improved significantly, but there was no correlation between it and the voltage. The voltage of stable knees was significantly higher than that of the unstable joints. Our findings showed that sensory reinnervation occurred in the reconstructed human ACL and was closely related to the function of the knee.