POSTERIOR CRUCIATE RECESSION IN TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY

Incremental recession of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), as a p art of ligamentous balancing in total knee arthroplasty, is critical i f the PCL is too tight. This study was undertaken to evaluate any poss ible untoward effects of PCL recession. Twenty-one patients who underw ent simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty between 1988 and 19 92 with a PCL recession performed only on one side (necessary to balan ce the knee) served as the study group. The average follow-up period w as 4 years. The patients were evaluated subjectively, by manual physic al testing, by radiography, and by KT-1000 arthrometry (Medmetric, San Diego, CA). There were no significant differences between the recesse d and nonrecessed knees. The conclusion is that PCL recession is appro priate and safe long-term for the patient in whom the PCL is found to be too tight at the time of knee arthroplasty.