Orthopaedia
Lateral Capsular Sign 		Log In   View a printable version of the current page.
  Dashboard > Orthopaedia > ... > Signs in Musculoskeletal Radiology > Lateral Capsular Sign


Added by Christian Veillette , last edited by Christian Veillette on Sep 06, 2008  (view change)
Labels: 
(None)

Location Knee
Diagnosis ACL tear - Segund fracture
Discussion Frontal radiographs of the knee which reveal a small fleck of bone adjacent to the lateral aspect of the lateral tibial plateau. This "lateral capsular sign" is a simple radiographic finding visible on the routine AP knee x-ray, which indicates severe lateral capsular injury and should alert the examiner to the possibility of ACL tear. The fleck of bone represents an avulsion of the meniscotibial portion of the middle one-third of the lateral capsular ligament. It most commonly implies a disruption of the capsular ligament and the ACL. A-B Radiographs. C. MRI confirms the diagnosis of ACL tear.
Reference Woods GW, Stanley RF, Tullos HS: Lateral capsular sign: X-ray clue to significant knee instability. Am J Sport Med 1979; 7:27-33.
Figures

Click thumbnail for larger image
(view as slideshow)
     
   
 
       
     
 
CORR Articles
Refresh Sun Oct 12 12:22:06 PDT 2008
The Classic: Modular Total Knee-Replacement Arthroplasty. A Review of Eighty-nine Patients
Case Report: Bipartite Tibial Epiphysis: Radiologic and Arthroscopic Presentation
Early Outcome of TKA with a Medial Pivot Fixed-bearing Prosthesis is Worse than with a PFC Mobile-bearing Prosthesis
The Classic: Repair of Bone in the Presence of Aseptic Necrosis Resulting from Fractures, Transplantations, and Vascular Obstruction
Imaging in the Surgical Management of Developmental Dislocation of the Hip
Springerlink Resources
Refresh Sun Oct 12 12:22:07 PDT 2008
Your Rating: Results: PatheticBadOKGoodOutstanding! 0 rates

The following individuals have contributed to this page:
UserEditsCommentsLabelsLabel ListLast Update
Christian Veillette 30036 days ago

Orthopaedia - Collaborative Orthopaedic Knowledgebase | About Orthopaedia | Contact Orthopaedia
Copyright Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.