Traumatic Disorders of the Knee

Management of knee trauma has changed rapidly over the past decade, with the acquisition of additional knowledge and new surgical techniques. At present, the optimal management of knee injuries requires the synthesis of multiple approaches drawn from orthopaedics and related surgical fields. The goal of this work is to comprehensively discuss the current state of the art in management of all types of knee trauma, including soft tissue and osteoarticular injuries. In order to take care of the patient with knee trauma, the orthopaedic surgeon must be able to assess and manage injuries of menisci, ligaments, articular surfaces, and bone, as all of these structures must work harmoniously for the knee to function properly. This book has been organized into five major sections. The first section on fundamental principles covers anatomy, articular cartilage injury and repair, osteochondral fractures, soft tissue management, extensile exposure, exter- nal fixation, and the use of allografts in the knee. These chapters set the stage for the second section, which covers major fractures of the distal femur and tibial plateau, and the third section, where injuries of the exten- sor mechanism are discussed. In section four, injuries of the menisci and ligaments are covered comprehensively, including discussion of multiple liga- ment disruptions and knee dislocations. The final section covers late recon- structive problems and complications of knee trauma, including knee stiff- ness, malunions and nonunions, arthrodesis, total knee replacements for posttraumatic arthritis, fractures about total knee replacement, and extensor mechanism disruption in total knee replacements.