Surgical treatment of the ligamentous injuries of the knee

Abstract

From 1976 to 1978, forty cases of ligamentous injuries of the knee were surgically treated in our department. Twenty four of the patients were treated for acute injuries and the remaining sixteen were treated for chronic instabilities. The cases were divided into three groups: (1) Medial compartmental injuries, (2) lateral compartmental injuries and (3) others. The majority of cases had medial compartmental injury (28 cases). The surgical treatment of acute ligamentous injuries was more satisfying than treatment of chronic instabilities of the knee. Six of the twenty four patients with acute ligamentous injuries had fully recovered while another fourteen had only grade I instability at follow-up. No case with chronic instability in our series recovered fully. Of the sixteen patients with chronic instability, eleven patients improved as regards their grade of instability, four remained unchanged and one got worse. In conclusion, it is felt that ligamentous injuries of the knee should be diagnosed early and treated surgical to achieve the best functional result.