Toshiro Ishibashi

The effects of tibial tunnel placement and roofplasty on reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament knees.

Seventy-five anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions augmented with the Kennedy Ligament Augmentation Device were evaluated according to classification of tibial drill-hole position on the basis of the anatomic landmarks of the ACL by two-dimensional radiographic imaging of the fully extended knee. The effects of roofplasty to avoid graft impingement were also assessed. The tibial drill-hole position was classified in relation to the medial intercondylar tubercle on anterior-posterior (AP) view, and in relation to Blumensaats line (B-line) on lateral view. Arthroscopic evaluation of the ACL and incidence of chronic synovitis as well as Lysholm knee score, manual knee tests, knee extension and flexion angles, and knee tester measurements were performed. The results indicated that the knee joints in which the tibial drill hole was positioned laterally from the medial intercondylar tubercle or in which the tibial drill hole was positioned anteriorly to the B-line showed a tendency to develop more postoperative chronic synovitis. The knees in which the tibial drill hole was positioned anteriorly to the B-line also showed larger AP laxity. There was no difference between the non-roofplasty and roofplasty groups.

Computerized Tomographic Analysis of Tibial Tubercle Position in the Painful Female Patellofemoral Joint

We used computerized tomography to evaluate the po sition of the tibial tubercle and to determine if the tibial tubercle is positioned more laterally in female patients with patellofemoral pain. We also wanted to determine the relationship of the tibial tubercle to tibial external rotation and patellar tilt. Sixty female patients and 19 healthy female controls were evaluated. To evaluate the position of the tibial tubercle, the tibial tubercle rotation angle (the angle formed by the line between the pos teriormost edges of the medial and lateral femoral con dyle and the line between the central point of the in tercondylar space and the central point of the patellar tendon at the level of the tibial tubercle) was measured by superimposing the images from the level of the distal femoral condyle and the tibial tubercle. The relationship between the tibial tubercle rotation angle and patellar tilt was then assessed by dividing the patients into 3 sub groups according to the patellar tilt. The tibial tubercle rotation angle was significantly different between the patellofemoral pain patients and the controls. There were also significant differences between the patients with moderate patellar tilt (10° to 20°) and the controls, and between the patients with high patellar tilt (>20°) and the controls.

Relationship between changes in length and force in in vitro reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament

The effect of tibial and femoral attachment site on the length change and force of an anterior cruciate ligament graft during unloaded flexion in eight cadaver speci mens was examined. Two tibial sites (anteromedial and central portion of the anterior cruciate ligament attach ment) and three femoral sites (anterior and central portions of the anterior cruciate ligament attachment, and over-the-top) were evaluated. Graft length changes between all combinations of attachment sites were measured from full extension to 150° of passive flexion at 15° intervals using the displacement of a 2-mm inextensible cord. The anterior cruciate ligament was then reconstructed using a Kennedy Ligament Aug mentation Device, and graft forces at the same angles of passive flexion were measured with a buckle trans ducer. Graft length change and force were more affected by the femoral attachment site than the tibial site. There was a close correlation between length change and force measurements in flexion, but not near extension. The pattern of force and length change versus flexion angle for a given combination of attachment sites some times varied over the knees tested. Our results suggest that intraoperative isometry measurements are worth while for indicating an overloaded graft in flexion; how ever, length changes near extension may not ade quately reflect graft force, creating the possibility that a graft may be more highly loaded than realized.

Effusions after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using the ligament augmentation device

Persistent effusions occurred in 4.3% (seven patients) of 164 patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using an autograft augmented with the ligament augmentation device (LAD) between 1986 and 1989. No bacteria were cultured from the joint fluid. The radiograph in each case showed a tibial drill hole located anteriorly or anterolaterally. Arthroscopy confirmed an abraded LAD in six cases and breakage of the LAD in one case and impingement of the graft on the femoral condyle during extension. Under polarized light microscopy, the histology of the synovia showed foreign body giant cells in one case and particles among the proliferative cells in four cases. The effusions subsided in two cases after notchplasty and in five cases after removal of the LAD. Impingement of the graft on the femoral condyle due to incorrect positioning of the tibial drill hole presumably produced particles that induced synovitis and effusions.

Effects of knee flexion angle at graft fixation on the outcome of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Clinical outcome in 44 patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with hamstring tendons augmented by the ligament augmentation device for chronic ACL deficiency was studied; average follow-up was 38 months (range, 24 to 52 months). In 19 patients, grafts were fixed with the knees at full extension (group 1), whereas in 25 patients, the grafts were fixed with the knees at 30 degrees of flexion (group 2). The results of subjective testing (Lysholm score), the Lachman test, the pivot-shift test, muscle strength testing, angle of extension loss, and follow-up arthroscopy were compared to assess the effects of flexion angle at fixation on stability and function. The range of motion in group 1 was significantly better than that in group 2. The stability of the knees and the arthroscopic appearance of the grafts in group 1 were, however, significantly worse than those in Group 2.

Nonsurgical Treatment of Lateral Ligament Injury of the Ankle Joint

Between 1986 and 1989, 40 patients with acute lateral ligament injury of the ankle joint were treated by immobilizing their affected feet in a plaster cast with a heel for 4 weeks, followed by a brace for the next 2 months. The average follow-up time was 29 months. Ninety-eight percent of the patients were rated as having satisfactory functional results. Stress radiographs at the latest follow-up showed good stability even in ankles that were severely unstable at injury. Posttreatment stress radiographs taken periodically showed that stability was maintained 6 months after treatment.

Posteromedial release of congenital club foot in children over five years of age

We reviewed 19 children with 24 congenital club feet at a mean of 11 years after one-stage posteromedial release at the age of five years or older (mean 6.8 years). Thirteen feet had undergone previous surgery. Nineteen feet were functionally excellent or good, three were fair and two had required subtalar arthrodesis. Radiographs showed good alignment of the tarsal bones, although mild adduction or varus deformity remained in several feet. Deformities of the bones were more common in feet which had had previous surgery.