Outcomes of treatment of multiple ligament knee injuries.

Overview

Knee dislocations are rare and potentially devastating injuries. Significant displacement of the tibia and femur commonly disrupts multiple knee ligaments and also often results in profound disruption to the surrounding soft tissue envelope. Open wounds and neurologic and vascular insult can put the involved limb in jeopardy. Following reduction, the optimal management of the dislocated knee is unknown. Surgery to repair and/or reconstruct torn structures likely affords superior long-term function over nonoperative immobilization strategies. The role of early versus delayed surgery, repair versus reconstruction, and autograft versus allograft tissue for reconstruction remain topics of debate. High-quality research efforts to investigate these controversies are hampered by the heterogeneous nature of the injuries themselves and the many treatment strategies available.