Ligaments are fibrous connective tissues that connect the thighbone and shinbone, thereby providing stability in the knee joint. They serve an important role in preventing excessive forces that can result in accelerated degeneration and wear in the knee.
The 4 main ligaments in the knee include:
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL),
- Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL),
- Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) and
- Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL).
These ligaments, together with the joint capsule and the traversing tendons, act to protect against the forces in all 6 degrees of freedom (angular, translational and torsional forces).
Surgeries:
- Arthroscopic ACL repair / reconstruction
- Arthroscopic PCL repair / reconstruction
- Posteriolateral Corner (PLC) repair / reconstruction
- MCL repair / reconstruction
- PLC reconstruction
- MPFL reconstruction
References:
- Koh, Bryan & Sayampanathan, Andrew & Bin Abd Razak, Hamid Rahmatullah & Chong, Hwei & Tan, Andrew. (2016). Injury patterns in patients presenting with a recurrent anterior cruciate ligament tear following primary reconstruction. Annals of Translational Medicine. 4. 232-232. DOI: 10.21037/atm.2016.06.04.
- Bin Abd Razak, Hamid Rahmatullah & Sayampanathan, Andrew & Koh, Bryan & Tan, Andrew. (2015). Diagnosis of ligamentous and meniscal pathologies in patients with anterior cruciate ligament injury: Comparison of magnetic resonance imaging and arthroscopic findings. Annals of translational medicine. 3. 243. DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2305-5839.2015.10.05.