Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery
Case reportArthroscopically Assisted Reduction of a Lateral Femoral Notch in Acute Tear of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Section snippets
Case report
A 20-year-old male college student injured his left knee while playing soccer. The patient reported twisting his knee and being tackled by an opponent while retaining this position. This led to an audible popping sound from the joint followed by swelling and pain; later, subjective instability ensued. Three days later, he underwent arthroscopic surgery at a local hospital where a tear of the ACL with a concomitant impaction fracture of the lateral condyle was diagnosed. Additional MRI confirmed
Discussion
This case exemplifies the possibility to treat a lateral femoral depression fracture or “lateral notch” associated with an acute ACL tear via a minimal surgical approach with good results. Subchondral edema of the lateral condyle is a frequent finding on MRI after acute ACL injury,4 and sometimes a depression fracture in this area ensues. It has been attributed to chronic instability in the past by some authors.3, 7 This might lead to neglecting the necessity to reduce such a fracture, and
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Open reduction of a lateral femoral notch associated with an acute anterior cruciate ligament tear
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The deep lateral femoral notchan indirect sign of a torn anterior cruciate ligament
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Occult fracture patterns of the knee associated with anterior cruciate ligament tearsassessment with MR imaging
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Cited by (17)
Lateral femoral chondral lesions are more frequent when an anterior cruciate ligament tear is concomitant with a lateral femoral notch sign, but do not progress over time
2024, Orthopaedics and Traumatology: Surgery and ResearchLateral femoral chondral lesions are more frequent when an anterior cruciate ligament tear is concomitant with a lateral femoral notch sign, but do not progress over time
2024, Revue de Chirurgie Orthopedique et TraumatologiqueReduction of a Depressed Femoral Lateral Notch at the Time of Lateral Extra-articular Tenodesis
2023, Arthroscopy TechniquesFate of the lateral femoral notch following early anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
2020, KneeCitation Excerpt :However, not only deformation, but also higher cartilage degeneration is assumed due to altered MRI relaxation times one year post-injury [12]. Treatment options with either arthroscopic or open reduction have been described in a limited number of cases [13–15], although, the long-term consequences and evidence-based indications for operative treatment of a lateral femoral notch (LFN) are still unknown. The main goal of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the long-term development of the LFN including depth, volume and area of the defect.
Lateral femoral notch sign and posterolateral tibial plateau fractures and their associated injuries in the setting of an anterior cruciate ligament rupture
2022, Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery
Cite this article as: Sadlo PA, Nebelung W. Arthroscopically assisted reduction of a lateral femoral notch in acute tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. Arthroscopy 2006;22:574.e1-574.e3 [doi:10.1016/j.arthro.2005.11.006].