The following article offers valuable information on the genesis and
treatment of ACL and meniscal injuries, with specific emphasis on the
simultaneous damage to both of these structures of the knee. While injury to
either the ACL or the menisci can be severely debilitating to the athlete,
the concurrent incidence of injury to both of these tissues can have far more
profound consequences.
The research presented below showed that the combined lesion of the ACL and
the meniscus results in a more severe damage of the joint than the sum of the
single lesions. Competent surgical ACL reconstruction in these cases is very
important, because meniscal tears cannot heal in unstable knees. On the other
hand, surgical resections of the menisci have to be avoided, because the
loss of these secondary stabilizers and synergists of the ACL increases the
risk of joint degeneration.
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Significance of combined anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus injury
[Article in German]
Metak G, Scherer MA
Zentralbl Chir 1999;124(7):646-52
The combined lesion of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) with simultaneous
or secondary meniscal tears has severe consequences for the knee joint. By a
synopsis of the literature and own experimental investigations in sheep it
can be shown that in ACL deficient knees secondary meniscal lesions occur,
what finally ends in osteoarthrosis. The combined lesion of the ACL and the
meniscus results in a more severe damage of the joint than the sum of the
single lesions. ACL reconstruction in these cases is very important, because
meniscal tears cannot heal in unstable knees. On the other hand resections of
the menisci must be avoided, because the loss of these secondary stabilizers
and synergists of the ACL increases the risk of joint degeneration.
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Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
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