EVALUATION OF KNEE-JOINT CARTILAGE AND MENISCI 10 YEARS AFTER ISOLATED AND COMBINED RUPTURES OF THE MEDIAL COLLATERAL LIGAMENT - INVESTIGATION BY WEIGHT-BEARING RADIOGRAPHY, MR-IMAGING AND ANALYSIS OF PROTEOGLYCAN FRAGMENTS IN THE JOINT FLUID

Purpose: To compare radiography, MR imaging, and chemical analysis in posttrau matic knees. Material and Methods: Ten matched pairs with eit her isolated partial rupture of the medial collateral ligament or comb ined medial collateral ligament/anterior cruciate ligament rupture wer e compared with matched controls 10 years after trauma. Weight-bearing radiographs and MR examinations were compared with proteoglycan fragm ent concentrations in the joint fluid. Results: The chemical analyses were similar in both trauma groups. The radiographs showed mild signs of arthrosis in half the patients with combined injury. MR images show ed almost all injuried knees to have degenerative changes of various d egrees in the cartilage and menisci. More frequent and more advanced c hanges were found after combined injury than after isolated injury (p< 0.01). There were no changes in the controls. Conclusion: MR imaging i s the best method for detecting and differentiating early posttraumati c knee arthrosis.