The arthroscopic popliteus bypass reconstruction for posterolateral instabilities of the knee - clinical results > 2 year follow up

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Injuries of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) are most often accompanied by injuries of the posterolateral corner (PLC) and the ligamentum collaterale fibulare (LCL). This leads to a combined dorsal- and external rotational instability. Prior to this study a novel arthroscopic technique was developed to treat posterolateral injuries (Popliteus Bypass Graft). To date, there are no long term results reported for arthroscopic techniques to treat these injuries. This study evaluated the clinical outcome of patients undergoing this surgery with a minimum follow up of 2 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the ongoing study, 47 patients with posterolateral instabilities of the knee were treated with an arthroscopic reconstruction of the popliteus bypass graft in combination with a PCL reconstruction. Patients with a minimum follow up of 2 years were included in this study. The clinical outcome was evaluated by subjective and objective scores for stability, pain and activity level: Lysholm, Tegner, KOOS, Dial test, subjective scores (0-10) for function (0 good, 10 poor) und pain (0 no pain, 10 intense pain). The dorsal stability was measured with the rolimeter. RESULTS: At the time of the abstract submission 17 patients where evaluated. The mean age at the time of the operation was 36.8 (±15.5) years, the mean BMI was 27.7 (±5.5). The mean time from the injury to the treatment was 6.9 (±5.3) months. The mean follow up time was 46.35 (±12.7) months. The mean postoperative Lysholm score was 88.7 (± 13.4). The mean Tegner score was 6.0 (±2.2) preoperative and changed to 5.3 (±2.2) postoperative. The KOOS score was evaluated for pain 87.2 (±19.5), symptoms 92.5 (±11.1), daily activity 89.2 (±16.9), function 73.1 (±28.9) and life quality 78.5 (±21.7). The mean Rolimeter measurement for the uninjured knee was 7.16mm (±2.2) compared to the operated side with 8,18mm (±1.7). The VAS score for function was 1.6 (±2.1) and 1.6 (±2.2) for pain. CONCLUSION: The arthroscopic reconstruction of posterolateral injuries provides good clinical and subjective results after a minimum follow up of 2 years.