Abstract
Introduction
Anterior cruciate ligament avulsion from the tibia with a bony fragment of the tibial spine is an uncommon injury of the knee joint and occasionally encountered in orthopedic practice. Various methods have been described to treat these injuries. We have evaluated the functional outcome of fixation of ACL avulsion fracture fixation by pullout sutures.
Materials And Methods
18 Patients with displaced tibial spine avulsion fractures without other associated ligament injuries were included in the study. Patients underwent arthroscopic fixation using high-strength nonabsorbable sutures utilizing intravenous cannula needles as suture passers and retrievers. The postoperative results were analyzed using clinical tests, radiological evaluation, and Lysholm score.
Results
We evaluated all 18 patients at the final follow-up (24months). Radiographs showed that all fractures healed anatomically and all patients reported no symptoms of instability, such as giving–way episodes, clinical signs of anterior cruciate ligament deficiency were negative. The functional outcome was assessed with help of Lysholm score on each follow-up (4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks , 1 year and end of follow-up)the mean lysom score was 95 at end of followup. two patient had a restricted range of motion in the post-op period.
Conclusion
Arthroscopic fixation of tibial spine avulsion fractures using high strength nonabsorbable sutures reliable technique, which gives excellent functional outcomes