Knee dislocation: initial assessment and implications for treatment.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate bicruciate knee injuries and determine whether they should be treated as knee dislocations, especially with regard to vascular injuries.


METHODS
Retrospective.


METHODS
University hospital, level 1 trauma center.


METHODS
Fifty patients admitted between 1987 and 1994 who had sustained knee dislocations or bicruciate ligament injuries.


METHODS
Mechanism of injury, direction of dislocation, knee ligament injury pattern, presence or absence of periarticular fracture, presence of vascular and nerve injuries, and location of associated trauma were measured.


RESULTS
Twenty-two knees had classic knee dislocations. Twenty-eight knees presented as "reduced" bicruciate ligament injuries. Vascular injury occurred just as frequently in bicruciate ligament injuries as in knee dislocations. The direction of the knee dislocation did not predict ligament injury pattern or the presence of arterial injury.


CONCLUSIONS
Bicruciate ligament injuries are equivalent to knee dislocations with regard to mechanism of injury, severity of ligamentous injury, and frequency of major arterial injuries.
Wascher
D C
DC
Department of Orthopaedics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 87131-5296, USA.
Dvirnak
P C
PC
DeCoster
T A
TA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011150:Popliteal Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D016119:Posterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome