Primary Repair of the Medial Collateral Ligament with a Double Row Suture Technique and Suture Tape Augmentation for Acute Tibial-Sided Injuries

The management of medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries has evolved during the past 30 years. Most heal reliably with conservative management. The treatment of MCL sprains with concomitant other ligamentous injuries continues to be controversial. Surgical management of chronic laxity of the medial structures can be quite difficult, and therefore anatomic repair of the medial support structures in the acute setting is preferred when indicated. Complete avulsion of the superficial and deep MCL from the tibia with disruption of the meniscal coronary ligament have a poor prognosis with non-operative treatment and may be optimally managed with acute surgical repair for improved valgus stability. A recent review demonstrated that there is a role for primary MCL repair for select patients. This technique addresses complete avulsions from the tibia, using multiple anchors for anatomic reattachment of the deep and superficial MCL, SutureBridge construct to enhance footprint compression, and suture tape to augment the MCL repair. Advantages of this technique include utilization of suture tape augmentation to allow for early range of motion, maintenance of the native MCL to preserve proprioception, and repair in the acute setting for faster recovery.