Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 15, Issue 9 621-625, Copyright © 1996 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Medial collateral ligament injuries of the knee: ultrasonographic findings
J. I. Lee, I. S. Song, Y. B. Jung, Y. G. Kim, C. H. Wang, H. Yu, Y. S. Kim, K. S. Kim and T. L. Pope Jr
Department of Radiology, Chung Ang University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
The aims of our study were (1) to describe the ultrasonographic findings of
the injured medial collateral ligament of the knee and (2) to assess the
usefulness of ultrasonography in both evaluating the presence and location
of the medial collateral ligament injuries and predicting the prognoses for
the patients. The study group consisted of 16 patients with the clinical
diagnosis of medial collateral ligament injury. We also examined 20 knee
joints in 10 volunteers who had no history of injury to the knee. To
predict prognoses, we divided the patients into two groups on the basis of
the location of medial collateral ligament injuries. A thickened and
heterogeneously hypoechoic appearance of the medial collateral ligament was
considered abnormal. The normal medial collateral ligament was a thin and
moderately homogeneous hypoechoic band with an average thickness of 4.3 mm
(range, 3.3 to 5.6 mm) at the femoral attachment and of 2.3 mm (range, 1.3
to 3.2 mm) at the tibial attachment. All injured medial collateral ligament
structures were thickened and heterogeneously hypoechoic. According to the
criteria for grading of medial collateral ligament injury with stress view,
10 patients had grade III medial collateral ligament tears, three had grade
II tears, and none had grade I injuries. In 15 (94%) of 19 knees, a correct
diagnosis could be made with ultrasonography. Ultrasonography is useful in
evaluating isolated medial collateral ligament injuries and in predicting
patient outcome on the basis of the location of the medial collateral
ligament injuries.
