Two-phase surgical treatment of anteromedial knee injuries

Abstract

The treatment of severe anteromedial knee injuries over the years has undergone various types of approach, changing from proposals, such as combined surgical repair of the anterior cruciate ligament and medial compartment, to the more current protocol which involves conservative treatment of the peripheral injury and later reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. However, in serious ruptures of the medial ligament compartment, conservative treatment does not make it possible to recover peripheral stability, thus transferring abnormal forces onto the anterior cruciate pro-ligament graft which can gradually deteriorate the transplant itself. Thus in severe anteromedial injuries a treatment with two distinct surgical phases is proposed, using direct immediate suture of the peripheral compartment and, after a period of rehabilitation, later replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament by arthroscope graft. Given the obtained results and the few complications observed in 25 cases, it is probable that this therapeutic scheme can be proposed in selected cases of severe ligament laxity of the medial compartment associated with rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament.