MRI assessment of tibial tunnel and its relation to complication following arthroscopic reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the role of MRI in evaluation of tibial tunnel and correlate findings with the rate of post anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair complication. Patients and methods: A prospective study recruited 34 patients, their ages ranged between 18 and 38 years after arthroscopic repair of ACL. All patients were referred from the orthopedic department between July 2012 and July 2013 with symptoms and signs suspicious of complications. MRI knee was performed for all patients after meeting inclusion criteria. Results: MRI was positive in 24 (70.6%) out of 34 patients. Graft impingement was the most frequently encountered complication representing 13/24 (54.1%). Graft disruption was encountered in 4/24 (16.7%). Graft stretching, arthrofibrosis and ganglion cyst were seen in two patients for each (8.3%). One patient had abnormal graft signal without disruption (4.1%). The remaining 12/34 (35.3%) patients had negative MRI with intact graft. Tunnel mal position was seen in 18/24 (75%) with positive post ACL reconstruction complications. Conclusion: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is one of the most commonly performed sports medicine procedures. MRI proved as an accurate method for post arthroscopic reconstruction evaluation that can help predict post ACL reconstruction complication.

Keywords

• Anterior cruciate ligament repair
• MRI knee
• Tibial tunnel characteristics
• Post ACL reconstruction complications