Avulsion of lateral tibial condyle in skiing.

The purpose of this article is to report four cases of avulsion of the lateral tibial condyle which occurred in one month of a skiing season at a large ski resort in West Virginia. This includes three women and one man who all complained of knee pain following ski injury and showed avulsion or "chip" fracture of the lateral tibial condyle on roentgenographic examination. Two of the injuries were associated with nonrelease of ski bindings. In all four cases the diagnosis of anterolateral rotary instability was not appreciated by the initial examiner, however, and the knee was treated with a splint. Avulsion fracture of the middle third of the lateral tibial condyle, the so called "lateral capsular sign," represents a serious ligamentous injury which results in significant knee instability. Surgical repair of this type of injury is generally recommended.