Articular cartilage lesions in the symptomatic anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee.

PURPOSE

The goal of the study was to report the prevalence of the lesions of the articular cartilage of the femoral condyles and tibial plateau in patients with a symptomatic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-deficient knee undergoing day-case arthroscopy.

TYPE OF STUDY

Case series study.

METHODS

We studied 378 skeletally mature patients (average age, 27.3 years; range, 16-50 years; 282 men and 84 women), part of a sample of 1,978 patients undergoing a primary knee arthroscopy between January 1986 and August 1993. The articular cartilage lesions were classified according to Outerbridge by a single observer. We assessed the relationship between time of injury and articular cartilage lesions and between meniscal lesions and articular cartilage lesions.

RESULTS

A complete ACL tear was found in all 378 knees. Of these, 157 showed at least one lesion of the articular cartilage. The medial femoral condyle (MFC) showed the highest frequency of articular cartilage lesions, especially in the weight-bearing portion. Patients with a bucket-handle tear of the medial meniscus had greater degeneration of the MFC than those with other meniscal tears. A meniscal tear was associated with a greater degree of articular damage. The second most common lesion was a combined lesion of the medial and lateral compartments, followed by isolated lateral compartment lesion. A time-dependent pattern of development of articular cartilage lesions was identified.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with more advanced degenerative changes, the time from injury to arthroscopy was significantly longer than in patients with lesser articular surface abnormalities, and the presence of a meniscal tear was associated with a greater degree of articular cartilage damage. Patients with a symptomatic ACL-deficient knee and an associated tear of the medial meniscus are at high risk of having a lesion of the articular surface of the weight bearing area of the knee.