title: MRI of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
abstract: Eleven asymptomatic patients 1-9 months after arthroscopic assisted anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with autogenous semitendinosus and gracilis tendons as a "neoligament" were studied by MR. Each neoligament was clinically intact. Examinations were performed at 1.5 T with T1- and T2-weighted sagittal and oblique spin echo images in the plane of ACL repair. On MR in 9 of the 11 patients (82%) the ACL neoligament appeared as a smooth well-defined band of low signal intensity along its entire course. In two patients (18%) the integrity of the neoligament could not be determined by MR. Ligaments in which integrity could not be determined demonstrated irregularity or a wavy contour, high signal intensity change within the ligament, or discontinuity of the ligament. We conclude that, contrary to previous reports, MR can demonstrate an intact ACL reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, St. Vincent's Medical Center, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Magee
authors.forename: Z S
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Rose
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D001182:Arthroscopy; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013710:Tendons / Q000637:transplantation