MRI of knee ligament injury and reconstruction

Abstract

Knee ligament instability may lead to meniscal and chondral damage, resulting in early osteoarthritis. Due to its superior soft tissue contrast and avoidance of harmful ionizing radiation, MRI has become the most important imaging modality for early recognition of structural defects of the knee joint. This review aims to the understanding of MRI appearances of knee ligament structures associated with knee instability, and to review the common patterns of altered knee mechanics that lead to ligament failure. Normal anatomy of the knee ligaments, pathologic conditions, and postsurgical appearances of the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, and posterolateral corner are described.

Tunnel Communication and Increased Graft Signal Intensity on Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Double-Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

“…Recently it has been noted that the anatomic graft location affects the signal properties of the graft so that the increased graft SI is seen for a prolonged period. 17 This is a finding similar to that in our study, with more than half of the PL grafts having increased SI. Based on our results, an increased graft SI can be frequently seen with no association to knee laxity 2 years after DB ACL reconstruction.…”

The Effect of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Technique on Graft Signal Intensity at Mid-Term Follow-Up

“…Farshad-Amacker et al observed that recent trend toward "anatomic" femoral and tibial footprints affects signal properties of the graft (22). They described prolonged hyperintensity in the delayed perioperative period, however uncertain if IGSI is due to plastic deformation or higher tension of the graft (22). Our results suggest there appears to be a difference in IGSI between the tibial and femoral tunnel, which may be attributed to the femoral tunnel positioning and graft fixation.…”

Knee: Multiligament Injuries

“…In the setting of a severe PLC injury, the adjacent peroneal nerve should be assessed for the presence of traumatic neuritis or disruption of nerve fascicles [ 14 ]. Halinen et al [ 15 ] demonstrated that MRI (1.5 T) ability to detect lateral meniscal tears was less than hoped, but medial meniscal tears, ligamentous injuries, and bone bruises were seen more precisely in 44 cases of multiligament knee injury.…”