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Arthroscopic Avulsion Repair of a Pediatric ACL with an Anomalous Primary Insertion into the Lateral Meniscus

  • Case Report
  • Published:
HSS Journal ®

Abstract

Background

Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the pediatric population is becoming more common, with the majority of ruptures occurring at the tibial insertion site. However, to our knowledge, there are no reports of avulsion in which the primary ACL insertion site is the anterior lateral meniscal root.

Methods

We report a rare case of a pediatric ACL/anterior horn of the lateral meniscus avulsion, which was successfully repaired arthroscopically.

Results

In this patient, neither a mid-substance tear, nor a tibial eminence fracture was noted. Instead, the patient avulsed the tibial insertion of the ACL from its small footprint, which included an extensive attachment to the lateral meniscus.

Conclusions

We believe this developmental anomaly may provide further support of the shared embryological origin between the ACL and menisci. In this case report, we review the literature on anterior cruciate ligament injury and repair in the pediatric population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Brian T. Feeley MD, Lawrence V. Gulotta MD & Russell F. Warren MD

  2. School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    Jason O. Toy BA

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 1500 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA

    Brian T. Feeley MD

Authors
  1. Jason O. Toy BA
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  2. Brian T. Feeley MD
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  3. Lawrence V. Gulotta MD
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  4. Russell F. Warren MD
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Correspondence to Jason O. Toy BA.

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Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved the reporting of this case, that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research.

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Toy, J.O., Feeley, B.T., Gulotta, L.V. et al. Arthroscopic Avulsion Repair of a Pediatric ACL with an Anomalous Primary Insertion into the Lateral Meniscus. HSS Jrnl 7, 190–193 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11420-011-9197-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11420-011-9197-0

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