Magnetic resonance imaging assessment of the normal knee anterolateral ligament in children and adolescents

Abstract

Visualization of the ALL increased with age in both sexes. Only after age 13 in females and age 15 in males was visualization of the ALL close to 70%; thus, below these ages, we believe that the characterization of this structure with conventional protocols is still imprecise.

Editorial Commentary: Extension of Knowledge—and the Knee! New Biomechanical Study Suggests the Clinical Practice of Anterolateral Ligament Fixation Near Extension

“…3 In these situations, it is hard to say that one perspective is completely right and the other is completely wrong. Controversy was found regarding anatomy, 1,2,4-6 histology, 7-9 biomechanics, [10][11][12][13] radiological evaluation, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] and reconstruction techniques. [21][22][23][24][25] Even though we have some data showing the benefits of ALL reconstruction, [26][27][28][29][30] it is not an absolute truth for most knee surgeons.…”

Editorial Commentary: Anterolateral Ligament—Anatomy, Evaluation, and Future Applications to Knee Stability

“…A concluding recommendation was made that imaging be evaluated by "individuals experienced in identifying healthy ALLs." Although Helito et al certainly fit that criterion, 5,6 the broader conclusions and implications of their study must be evaluated with care.…”

Author Reply to “Regarding ‘Identification of Normal and Injured Anterolateral Ligaments of the Knee: A Systematic Review of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies’”

“…1 As noted in the Letter to the Editor, our search was performed up to the end of April 2018 (article submitted in June 2018), and unfortunately, it was not possible to include the many studies that have been published since then. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] In our systematic review, 1 despite the wide range of anterolateral ligament (ALL) identification rates in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and inconsistent observer agreement, many papers identified ALL in nearly all knees assessed, and some showed good intraand interobserver agreement rates (ranging from 0.84 to 1.0). We commend Saithna and colleagues for their recent works on this topic.…”