PurposeThe aim of this biomechanical cadaver study was to evaluate the effects of high-grade posterolateral tibia plateau fractures on the kinematics of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-deficient joints; it was hypothesized that, owing to the loss of the integrity of the osseous support of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus (PHLM), these fractures would influence the biomechanical function of the lateral meniscus (LM) and consequently lead to an increase in anterior translational and anterolateral rotational (ALR) instability.MethodsEight fresh-frozen cadaveric knees were tested using a six-degree-of-freedom robotic setup (KR 125, KUKA Robotics, Germany) with an attached optical tracking system (Optotrack Certus Motion Capture, Northern Digital, Canada). After the passive path from 0 to 90 degrees was established, a simulated Lachman test and pivot-shift test as well as external rotation (ER) and internal rotation (IR) were applied at 0 degrees, 30 degrees, 60 degrees and 90 degrees of flexion under constant 200 N axial loading. All of the parameters were initially tested in the intact and ACL-deficient states, followed by two different types of posterolateral impression fractures. The dislocation height was 10 mm, and the width was 15 mm in both groups. The intraarticular depth of the fracture corresponded to half of the width of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus in the first group (Bankart 1) and 100% of the meniscus width in the second group (Bankart 2).ResultsThere was a significant decrease in knee stability after both types of posterolateral tibial plateau fractures in the ACL-deficient specimens, with increased anterior translation in the simulated Lachman test at 0 degrees and 30 degrees of knee flexion (p = 0.012). The same effect was seen with regard to the simulated pivot-shift test and IR of the tibia (p = 0.0002). In the ER and posterior drawer tests, ACL deficiency and concomitant fractures did not influence knee kinematics (n.s.).ConclusionThis study demonstrates that high-grade impression fractures of the posterolateral aspect of the tibial plateau increase the instability of ACL-deficient knees and result in an increase in translational and anterolateral rotational instability.
