Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) Repair
Severe PCL laxity, which results in a knee with significant posterior translation is quite unsettling to the patient, especially athletes due to the shifting of the tibia during running.
Patients will benefit from a PCL reconstruction, which re-establishes stability to the knee.
A ruptured ligament cannot be repaired.
It must be reconstructed using a graft.
Treatment
Unlike the an ACL tear, when the tearing of a PCL is less severe, athletes usually undergo repair surgery. When the tear is severe, the athlete must be operated on to recover function and resume their activity in sports. The tear can be repaired by reattaching the torn fibers to each other. If there aren’t enough fibers for reattachment, the PCL should be reconstructed.
If there is a good about of good tissue left in the knee, the surgeon usually performs repair surgery. Repair surgery is as follows:
- The surgeon enters the knee arthroscopically.
- A suture punch is then used to pass sutures into the remaining PCL.
- The sutures are then guided through a tunnel that is bored from the insertion site of the PCL through the femoral condyle, exiting on the medial border of the femur.
- The sutures are then tied in a fisherman’s slip knot down to the bone, and then to each other.
- After this, any associated capsular tearing is then repaired.
If it is determined that there isn’t enough good tissue to salvage the PCL, reconstruction surgery is performed.
Treatment Highlights
