[Diagnosis and treatment of the cruciate ligament injury of knee joint].

During 1959 to 1986, 62 Cases with cruciate ligament injury of the knee joint were treated in our hospital. Thirty of these cases were anterior cruciate ligament injuries and 32 cases were posterior The diagnosis of the cruciate ligament injuries was made by stability tests of the cruciate ligament. When the knee was greatly swollen with multiple ligament injuries, a series of X-ray films should be taken to test the knee stability under local or nerve block anesthesia. Fresh tear of the cruciate ligament (33 cases) was treated with immediate surgical repair except in one. Old ligament injuries (28 cases) were treated by conservative method (10 cases) or surgical reconstruction (18 cases). All patients were followed for 2 to 18 years (mean 6 years). The results showed that the fresh tear of the cruciate ligament treated surgically had excellent and good rates in 87.9% (29/33). In the conservative treatment group, only 27.3% (3/11) obtained good result, and most of them were complicated with meniscal lesions and osteoarthritis. Eighteen cases treated by ligament reconstruction gave 34.5% (8/18) good result.