Remnant Posterior Cruciate Ligament–Augmenting Stent Procedure for Injuries in the Acute or Subacute Stage

Purpose

To evaluate the results of a remnant posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)–augmenting stent procedure for acute- or subacute-stage PCL injuries in terms of stability and clinical results.

Methods

Between September 2003 and March 2006, 32 patients with a PCL tear underwent a reconstructive stent procedure with an autogenous hamstring tendon graft to augment the remains of the injured PCL. Of these patients, 20 who satisfied our inclusion criteria and could be followed up for a minimum duration of 24 months were enrolled in our study. The remnant PCL and synovium were preserved, and augmentation was performed by use of the transtibial technique. A femoral tunnel was created near the footprint of the anterolateral bundle. Stability was measured on posterior stress radiographs and by use of a maximum manual displacement test performed with a KT-1000 arthrometer (MEDmetric, San Diego, CA). The International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) and Orthopädische Arbeitsgruppe Knie scoring systems were used for clinical evaluation.

Results

Stress radiographs showed that the mean side-to-side differences in displacement were reduced from 9.9 ± 4.0 mm preoperatively to 3.0 ± 2.6 mm at the last follow-up, whereas KT-1000 tests showed that these differences were reduced from 6.9 ± 2.1 mm preoperatively to 2.7 ± 1.5 mm. The final IKDC score was A in 7 patients (35%), B in 10 (50%), C in 2 (10%), and D in 1 (5%). The mean Orthopädische Arbeitsgruppe Knie score improved from 61.6 ± 13.1 to 88.2 ± 9.5.

Conclusions

Of the patients, 90% showed satisfactory posterior stability and 85% had a normal or nearly normal rating based on the IKDC score at a mean of 3 years after the remnant PCL–augmenting stent procedure in the acute or subacute stage of PCL injuries.

Level of Evidence

Level IV, therapeutic case series.