Purpose: Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury has a reported incidence of 3-20 %. PCL reconstruction is aimed at reducing onset of premature articular degeneration and improving function. Numerous operative techniques have been described with varying degrees of result consistency.
Methods: We evaluated 15 patients treated for isolated primary posterior cruciate ligament injury with a mean follow-up of 4.1 years (range one to nine). Post-reconstruction clinical assessment included the Lysholm and Tegner knee scoring scale, international knee documentation committee (IKDC) ligament evaluation, and KT2000 arthrometer assessment.
Results: On the Lysholm knee score 11 patients (73 %) had excellent results, three patients (20 %) had good results and one patient (7 %) had a poor result. On the Tegner activity score the majority of patients scored 7-8 with a return to high level sports. At the final follow-up, the post-reconstruction IKDC score was normal or nearly normal (A and B) in 14 (93 %) patients, and abnormal (C) in one (7 %) patient. According to KT-2000 arthrometer measurements at final follow-up review, 11 patients (73 %) were rated as normal (A, 0-2 mm), and four patients (27 %) as nearly normal (B, 3-5 mm). These results were independent of age, mechanism of injury, time elapsed to surgical reconstruction, and length of follow-up.
Conclusions: Despite being a technically demanding procedure, the outcomes reported in this study show that single bundle transtibial arthroscopic PCL repair using four strands hamstring autograft provides satisfactory and consistent functional outcomes.