Ganglion of the Cruciate Ligament of the Knee

Woo, Young Kyun; Lee, Hwa Sung; Kwon, Soon Yong; Kim, Ki Won; Lee, Kwang Yeol

Abstract

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of ganglia of the cruciate ligament of the knee.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed the clinical symptoms and signs, magnetic resonance findings, arthroscopic findings and operative results of 14 patients.
RESULTS
The most common complaint was pain. McMurrays test was negative and instability was not identified. Limitation of motion was observed in 7 cases. In the remaining 7 patients who had no limitation, pain was caused by hyper-flexion or hyper-extension. Most ganglia (11 of 14) arose from the femoral insertion side of the cruciate ligament. Treatment methods were arthroscopic drainage in 11 of the cases and open excision in the remaining cases. Irrespective of treatment methods, all patients gained full range of motion without pain and returned to their preoperative jobs within 3-4 weeks.
CONCLUSIONS
When patients complain of limitation of motion or pain on hyper-flexion and/or hyper-extension without trauma, a ganglion of the cruciate ligament should be considered if there is no instability nor negative findings on McMurray's test. Magnetic resonance imaging is diagnostic in confirming the lesion. Arthroscopic drainage of the ganglia is useful in treating the symptomatic patient with ganglia of the knee.