Trivalent reconstruction for posterolateral and lateral knee instability.

Abstract

Chronic posterolateral rotatory and lateral instability of the knee is approached from multiple anatomic and functional points of view. Traditional surgical techniques provide one-directional stabilization using autologous tendon transplantation and the split-tendon biceps procedure. Both of these resolve the lateral opening of the joint but do not secure the rest of the anatomic structures that are very important, such as the arcuate ligament and the capsule. This new approach to solving an old problem acts by tightening the fibular collateral ligament, arcuate ligament, the capsule (partially), and biceps tendon in 1 step by performing an oblique fibular-head osteotomy and pulling down these structures with good results. We report 2 cases in which this technique was used. The first was a 26-year-old man who hit the dashboard in an automobile accident and presented 1 week later with posterolateral instability associated with a tear of the posterior cruciate ligament. The second was a case of pure chronic lateral instability of the knee in a 32-year-old man who sustained a fall that caused a rupture of his lateral collateral ligament. This was repaired using a trivalent reconstruction at 3 months. Both patients successfully achieved good stability after reconstruction.