Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 43

(Original PDF) ESSKA Instructional

Course Lecture Book Glasgow 2018


Go to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebooksecure.com/product/original-pdf-esska-instructional-course-lecture-book-
glasgow-2018/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

(eBook PDF) Fractures of the Hand and Carpus: FESSH


2018 Instructional Course Book

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-fractures-of-the-hand-
and-carpus-fessh-2018-instructional-course-book/

GMAT Official Guide 2018: Book

http://ebooksecure.com/product/gmat-official-guide-2018-book/

MCAT Organic Chemistry Review 2018-2019 Online + Book

http://ebooksecure.com/product/mcat-organic-chemistry-
review-2018-2019-online-book/

(eBook PDF) Instructional Patterns: Strategies for


Maximizing Student Learning

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-instructional-patterns-
strategies-for-maximizing-student-learning/
(eBook PDF) Translational Medicine in CNS Drug
Development, Volume 29

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-translational-medicine-
in-cns-drug-development-volume-29/

Progress in Heterocyclic Chemistry Volume 29 1st


Edition - eBook PDF

https://ebooksecure.com/download/progress-in-heterocyclic-
chemistry-ebook-pdf/

Lecture & Note-Taking Guide: To Accompany Calculus


Concepts, 13th Edition Sherry Biggers - eBook PDF

https://ebooksecure.com/download/lecture-note-taking-guide-to-
accompany-calculus-concepts-13th-edition-ebook-pdf/

(eBook PDF) AutoCAD 2018 and AutoCAD LT 2018 Essentials

http://ebooksecure.com/product/ebook-pdf-autocad-2018-and-
autocad-lt-2018-essentials/

Discovering Computers 2018 - eBook PDF

https://ebooksecure.com/download/discovering-
computers-2018-ebook-pdf/
Gino M.M.J. Kerkhoffs
Fares Haddad
Michael T. Hirschmann
Jón Karlsson · Romain Seil
Editors

ESSKA
Instructional Course
Lecture Book
Glasgow 2018

123
Contents

1 Advances in Treatment of Complex Knee Injuries ����������������������   1


Gilbert Moatshe, Jorge Chahla, Marc J. Strauss,
Robert F. LaPrade, and Lars Engebretsen
2 “Small” Fractures Below the Knee: Do Not
Miss—Do Not Mistreat!������������������������������������������������������������������ 15
Pieter d’Hooghe, B. Krivokapic, Gino M.M.J. Kerkhoffs,
Christiaan van Bergen, Peter G. van Doesburg, Laura Bloem,
Pietro Spennacchio, D. Cucchi, Joe Wagener,
Christopher diGiovanni, Tonya Dixon, and Sjoerd Stufkens
3 Meniscal Injuries: Management and Outcome���������������������������� 33
S. Konan, M. McNicholas, P. Verdonk, T. Spalding, A. Price,
T. Holland, A. Volpin, I. Pengas, and P. E. Gelber
4 Basic Concepts in Hip Arthroscopy������������������������������������������������ 45
O. Marin-Peña, B. Lund, O.R. Ayeni, P. Dantas,
D. Griffin, V. Khanduja, H.G. Said, M. Tey,
E. Dickenson, J. Kay, V. Mascarenhas, M.A. Sadakah,
K.H. Sunil Kumar, and M. Tahoun
5 Visualization and Anesthesia in Shoulder Arthroscopy:
How to Overcome Bleeding and Poor Exposure �������������������������� 69
Jens Agneskirchner, Nestor Zurita, Malte Holschen,
and Harald Pilger
6 Fast Track in TKA Surgery: Where Are We Now?���������������������� 81
Nanne P. Kort and Michael Clarius
7 New Insights in Diagnosis and Treatment of Distal
Biceps Pathology������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 85
Denise Eygendaal, Michel van den Bekerom, Raul Barco,
Paolo Arrigoni, Riccardo D’Ambrosi, Davide Cucchi,
Simone Nicoletti, Pietro Simone Randelli, Kilian Wegmann,
and Lars Peter Müller
8 Osteotomies: The Surgical Details You Want to Know���������������� 93
R.J. van Heerwaarden, S. Schröter, Raghbir Singh Khakha,
A. Wilson, D. Pape, and Ph. Lobenhoffer

ix
x Contents

9 The Role of Arthroscopy in Ankle Instability Treatment������������ 109


Pietro Spennacchio, Gwen Vuurberg, Stephane Guillo,
Jón Karlsson, Jordi Vega, and Helder Pereira
10 Combined Meniscus and Cartilage Lesions���������������������������������� 123
Peter Angele, Michael T. Hirschmann, Sebastian Kopf,
Henning Madry, Philipp Niemeyer, and Peter Verdonk
11 Osteotomies: Advanced and Complex Techniques������������������������ 129
Susannah Clarke, Justin Cobb, Martin Jaere, Gareth Jones,
Kristian Kley, Philipp Lobenhoffer, Christopher McCrum,
Volker Musahl, and Ryohei Takeuchi
12 Patellofemoral Joint Instability: Where Are We in 2018?������������ 153
Deiary Kader, David Dejour, Rebecca Stoner,
Stefano Pasqualotto, Bobby Anand, Mirco Herbort,
Jonathan Eldridge, Nick Caplan, and Elizabeth Arendt
13 Extra-articular Shoulder Endoscopy: A Review of Techniques
and Indications �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 171
Roman Brzóska, Angel Calvo, Pablo Carnero, Paweł Janusz,
Viktoras Jermolajevas, Laurent Lafosse, Thibault Lafosse,
Hubert Laprus, Olaf Lorbach, Paweł Ranosz,
Alfredo Rodríguez, and Nestor Zurita
14 Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty������������������������������������������ 187
S. Lustig, S.T. Donell, G. Pagenstert, P. Henle, S. Oussedik,
J. Beckmann, and F. Haddad
15 Sports Injuries in Throwing Athletes �������������������������������������������� 201
Oskar Zupanc, Nicolas Holzer, Claudio Rosso,
Nick F. J. Hilgersom, Luke S. Oh, Andreas Lenich,
Boris Hollinger, Meglič Uroš, Denise Eygendaal,
Raul Barco, Paolo Arrigoni, Marco Brioschi, Pietro Randelli,
Davide Cucchi, and Hakan Turan Cift
16 Decision-Making in Anterior Shoulder Instability ���������������������� 221
Michel P.J. van den Bekerom, Derek F.P. van Deurzen,
Karin M.C. Hekman, Olivier Verborgt, Klaus Bak,
Marco Brioschtai, Chiara Fossati, Riccardo Compagnoni,
Alessandra Menon, Hassanin Alkaduhimi, and Pietro Randelli
17 Pediatric ACL Injuries: Treatment and Challenges �������������������� 241
Rob Janssen, Martin Lind, Lars Engebretsen,
Håvard Moksnes, Romain Seil, Peter Faunø,
and Martha Murray
18 Return to Play Following Achilles Tendon Rupture �������������������� 261
Michael R. Carmont, Jennifer A. Zellers, Clare Ardern,
Karin Grävare Silbernagel, Jón Karlsson, and Hermann Mayr
Contents xi

19 Management of Less Frequent and Multi-ligament


Knee Injuries������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 273
Steve Bollen, Sam Oussedik, William Hage, James Robinson,
Manuel Leyes, and Joan C. Monllau
20 How to Operatively Stabilize the Patella �������������������������������������� 301
Siebren Tigchelaar, Sebastiaan van de Groes,
Nico Verdonschot, Marie Askenberger, Petri Sillanpää,
and Sander Koëter
21 Massive Retracted Rotator Cuff Tear: Treatment Options��������� 309
Giuseppe Milano, Maristella F. Saccomanno, Paolo Avanzi,
Bartlomiej Kordasiewicz, Ladislav Kovacic,
Vladimir Senekovic, Jan Kany, Peter Domos,
Bruno Toussaint, Jérôme Bahurel, and Mustafa Karahan
22 Instability After Total Knee Arthroplasty�������������������������������������� 323
Michael T. Hirschmann, Antonia F. Chen, Sandro Kohl,
Pier Francesco Indelli, Kimberly E. Hall, and Roland Becker
23 Dance Orthopaedics, Ballet Injuries and When to Perform
Surgical Treatment�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 343
Duncan E. Meuffels, Rintje Agricola, and James Calder

Index���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 355
Advances in Treatment of Complex
Knee Injuries
1
Gilbert Moatshe, Jorge Chahla, Marc J. Strauss,
Robert F. LaPrade, and Lars Engebretsen

1.1 Introduction [1, 2]. Knee dislocations often result in multi-­


ligament knee injuries, but some multi-ligament
Multi-ligament knee injuries are commonly knee injuries are not knee dislocations. A knee
defined as a tear of at least two of the four major dislocation is typically characterized by rupture
knee ligament structures: the anterior cruciate of both cruciate ligaments, with or without an
ligament (ACL), the posterior cruciate ligament associated grade III medial- or lateral-sided
(PCL), the posteromedial corner (PMC), and the injury [2, 3]. Knee dislocations with one of the
posterolateral corner (PLC) in the same incident cruciate ligaments intact have been reported, but
these are less common [4, 5]. Multi-ligament
injuries are heterogeneous and are often associ-
ated with other injuries in the ipsilateral limb and
G. Moatshe (*) injuries to other organs. Therefore, a thorough
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Oslo University
Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway diagnostic workup and treatment plan are manda-
tory when dealing with these injuries. The pur-
OSTRC, The Norwegian School of Sports Sciences,
Oslo, Norway pose of this chapter is to describe the principles
Steadman Philippon Research Institute, of multi-ligament injuries including patient
Vail, CO, USA demographics and associated injuries, diagnosis
e-mail: gilbert.moatshe@medisin.uio.no and treatment approaches, surgical pearls for
J. Chahla avoiding tunnel convergence, and grafts tension-
Steadman Philippon Research Institute, ing sequence, outcomes, and prevalence of osteo-
Vail, CO, USA
arthritis after knee dislocation surgery and future
M.J. Strauss perspectives.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Oslo University
Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
R.F. LaPrade
Steadman Philippon Research Institute, 1.1.1 Classification
Vail, CO, USA
The Steadman Clinic, Vail, CO, USA The most widely used classification system
for the dislocated knee is based on the anatom-
L. Engebretsen
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Oslo University ical patterns of the ligaments torn and was
Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway described by Schenck et al. (Table 1.1) [3, 6].
OSTRC, The Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, The advantage of this classification is that it
Oslo, Norway allows for identification of the torn ligaments

© ESSKA 2018 1
G.M.M.J. Kerkhoffs et al. (eds.), ESSKA Instructional Course Lecture Book,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56127-0_1
2 G. Moatshe et al.

Table 1.1 Table with Schenck’s knee dislocation classi- [12]. With obesity becoming a global problem,
fication [6]
the incidence of these injuries will potentially
KD I Injury to single cruciate + collaterals increase.
KD II Injury to ACL and PCL with intact Knees with both cruciate ligaments torn should
collaterals
be treated as knee dislocations, and the risk of vas-
KD III M Injury to ACL, PCL, and MCL
cular and neurologic injuries is high [13].
KD III L Injury to ACL, PCL, and LCL
Furthermore, Geeslin and LaPrade reported that
KD IV Injury to ACL, PCL, MCL, and LCL
KD V Dislocation + fracture
only 28% of posterolateral knee complex (PLC)
injuries occur in isolation; hence patients present-
Additional caps of “C” and “N” are utilized for associated
injuries. “C” indicates an arterial injury. “N” indicates a ing with PLC injuries should be evaluated for con-
neural injury, such as the tibial or, more commonly, the comitant injuries [14]. Moatshe et al. [11] reported
peroneal nerve common peroneal nerve injuries and vascular inju-
ACL anterior cruciate ligament, PCL posterior cruciate
ries in 19% and 5%, respectively, in an evaluation
ligament, MCL medial collateral ligament, LCL lateral
collateral ligament of 303 patients with knee dislocations. Based on
their cohort, the odds of having a peroneal nerve
injury were 42 times higher among patients with
posterolateral corner injury than those without,
and associated vascular, neurologic injuries, while the odds of having a popliteal artery injury
and fractures and also for planning of were 9.2 times higher in patients with a posterolat-
treatment. eral corner injury. Additionally, a peroneal nerve
injury was significantly associated with a vascular
injury with an odds ratio of 20.6. Thus, patients
1.2 State-of-the Art Treatment with peroneal nerve injuries should be examined
thoroughly for an associated vascular injury, and
1.2.1 Patient Demographics the surgeon should have a low threshold for obtain-
and Associated Injuries ing a CT angiogram. In a systematic review by
Medina et al. [15], the frequencies of nerve and
Multi-ligament knee injuries were historically vascular injuries in knee dislocations were 25%
believed to be uncommon; however, Arom et al. and 18%, respectively. Becker et al. reported a
recently reported an incidence of 0.072 per 100 comparable prevalence of peroneal nerve injuries
patient-years based on a database with 11 mil- (25%) but a higher prevalence of arterial injuries
lion patients [7]. These injuries are often caused (21%) in a series of 106 patients [13].
by both high-energy trauma [8], such as motor A high prevalence of meniscal and focal carti-
vehicle accidents and falls from heights, and lage injuries is reported in multi-ligament knee
low-­energy trauma [9] including sporting activi- injuries. In a review of 121 patients (122 knees),
ties. Engebretsen et al. reported that high-energy Krych et al. reported that 76% of overall patients
and sports-related injuries accounted for 51% had a meniscal or chondral injury; 55% presented
and 47% of knee dislocations, respectively, with meniscal tears, while 48% presented with a
based on a cohort of 85 patients with knee dislo- chondral injury in a follow-up of 121 patients
cations [10]. In a recent review of a large cohort (122 knees) [16]. However, Richter et al. reported
of 303 patients with bicruciate knee dislocations, a lower incidence (15%) of meniscal injuries in
Moatshe et al. [11] reported equivalent rates of association with knee dislocations [17]. In a
high- and low-energy trauma, with 50.3% and recent review of 303 patients with knee disloca-
49.7%, respectively. Miller et al. reported on tions from a single center, Moatshe et al. [11]
multi-ligament knee injuries in obese individuals reported meniscal injuries in 37.3% of the
as a result of ultralow-velocity trauma [12]. patients and cartilage injuries in 28.3%. Patients
These patients are reported to have a high preva- treated for multi-ligament injuries in the chronic
lence of associated vascular and nerve injuries phase had higher prevalence of chondral lesions.
1 Advances in Treatment of Complex Knee Injuries 3

Medial-sided injuries are usually the most the attention from the injured knee, leading to a
common injuries in multi-ligament knee injury missed or late diagnosis. Furthermore, associated
patterns. Moatshe et al. [11] reported that medial-­ limb or organ injuries can affect the treatment
sided injuries constituted 52% of the injuries in plan. It is recommended to apply the Advanced
303 patients with knee dislocations. In their Trauma Life Support (ATLS) principles when
series, lateral-sided injuries constituted 28%, and treating high-energy injuries. Concomitant inju-
bicruciate injuries with no other ligament involve- ries to the popliteal artery (23–32%) [8, 19] and
ment constituted only 5%. In a review by the common peroneal nerve (14–40%) [15, 20]
Robertson et al. [18], medial-sided and lateral-­ are commonly observed in high-velocity knee
sided injuries were reported in 41% and 28%, dislocations.
respectively. In contrast, Becker et al. reported For vascular assessment, foot pulses and skin
that lateral-sided injuries were the most common color should be examined and compared with the
(43%) in a series of 106 patients [13]. What is uninjured side and monitored after admission for
common for these studies is that KD III injuries early detection of change in circulation. Physical
are the most common ligament injury pattern in examination with the presence of a normal vascu-
knee dislocations. lar examination (normal and symmetrical pulses,
capillary refill, normal neurological examination)
is reported to be reliable to screen patients with
1.2.2 Acute Treatment knee dislocations for “selective” arteriography
and Diagnostics [21]. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is useful as
an adjunct to the physical examination to assess
1.2.2.1 Acute Multiple-Ligament for vascular injuries, especially in patients where
Knee Injuries Diagnostics physical examination is not reliable such as those
It is important to estimate the amount of energy with neurological injuries and the obese. An
involved in the injury. High-energy trauma can angiography is recommended when the ankle-­
cause injuries distant to the knee, which can take brachial index (ABI) is <0.9 (Fig. 1.1) [22, 23].

Fig. 1.1 Obtaining an (a) ankle- (b) brachial index (ABI) mended. Patients with peroneal nerve injuries have a
is important to have an objective evaluation of the vascu- higher odds of a concomitant vascular injury and should
lar system. If the ABI is <0.9, angiography is recom- therefore be considered for CT angiography
4 G. Moatshe et al.

In the obese patients with ultralow-velocity to patient guarding (Figs. 1.3 and 1.4) [27–29]. In
knee dislocations, one should have a low thresh- cases where stress radiographs are difficult to
old for CT angiography examination because of perform, a mini C-arm can be utilized for the
the difficulty in physical examination and the
previously reported high risk of vascular injuries
[12, 24]. Some protocols recommend an ABI cut-
off of <0.8 [25], while others recommend <0.9 to
perform arteriography [21, 22]. The authors rec-
ommend a cutoff of <0.9 because ABI is easy and
inexpensive to perform, while the consequences
of not detecting vascular injury can be devastat-
ing. Patients with vascular injuries are initially
treated with acute revascularization, and the knee
is protected in an external fixator to protect the
revascularization graft and to maintain knee
reduction [25, 26]. The external fixator is usually
removed at 2 weeks, and the knee is placed in a
hinged brace to avoid pin infections and joint
stiffness.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is per-
formed to evaluate all the injured structures,
including ligaments, menisci, and cartilage
(Fig. 1.2). Stress radiographs are essential in the Fig. 1.2 Preoperative magnetic resonance image (MRI)
evaluation of the PCL, PLC, and the PMC but showing a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) tear in a
can be difficult to carry out in the acute phase due patient with multi-ligament injury

Fig. 1.3 Preoperative stress radiographs are important in line to intersect the first line drawn parallel to the tibial
evaluating patients with knee ligament injuries. In this cortex. This distance is compared to the contralateral side
patient, there was a 13.3 mm increase in posterior tibial to give a side-to-side difference. A posterior translation
translation on the left compared to the right knee, consis- side-to-side difference of 0–7 mm is usually due to partial
tent with a combined PCL injury. To compare the poste- PCL tear or in patients who are too sore to put sufficient
rior tibial translation, a point is identified along the weight on the knee; an 8–11 mm side-to-side difference is
posterior tibial cortex 15 cm distal to the joint line. A line associated with a complete isolated PCL tear; and
is then drawn from this point parallel to the posterior cor- ≥12 mm is usually observed in patients with a complete
tex, through the femoral condyles. The most posterior PCL tear and additional ligament injury, usually the PLC
point of Blumensaat’s line is marked. A perpendicular line or PMC but can also be seen in patients with decreased
is drawn from the most posterior point of the Blumensaat’s sagittal plane tibial slope
1 Advances in Treatment of Complex Knee Injuries 5

Fig. 1.4 Varus stress radiographs to evaluate the integrity of the posterolateral corner preoperatively. In this picture
there is a 7.1 mm side-to-side difference consistent with a complete posterolateral corner (PLC) injury

examination under anesthesia at the time of sur- matic knee dislocations (63 patients treated with
gery to objectively determine the amount of knee surgical repair or reconstruction, 26 patients
gapping. It is important to diagnose and treat col- treated nonsurgically) with a mean follow-up of
lateral ligament injuries concurrently with cruci- 8.2 years. In a literature review by Peskun and
ate ligament reconstructions because untreated Whelan [33] evaluating outcomes in 855 patients
collateral ligament injuries will lead to increased from 31 studies treated surgically, and 61 patients
forces on the cruciate ligament reconstruction from 4 studies treated nonsurgically, functional
grafts, increasing the risk of graft failure [30, 31]. outcomes, stability, and return to activity favored
surgical treatment. In summary, the literature
1.2.2.2 Treatment supports surgical treatment and postoperative
It is commonly accepted that multi-ligament functional rehabilitation of multi-ligament knee
injuries should be treated with reconstruction of injuries.
the torn ligaments. Non-operative treatment can
be considered for the elderly, sedentary, and high 1.2.2.3 Repair Versus Reconstruction
surgical risk patients. Surgical treatment of the Several studies have demonstrated that recon-
torn ligaments in multi-ligament injured knees struction of the torn ligaments is superior to
improves patient-reported outcomes [17, 32, 33]. repair. Mariani et al. evaluated outcomes in a
In a meta-analysis including 132 knees treated cohort of patients with multi-ligament injuries,
surgically and 74 treated nonsurgically, Dedmond 52 patients treated with repair of the ligaments
and Almekinders reported better outcomes in the versus 28 treated with reconstructions [34].
surgically treated group than the nonsurgical Patients with repair of cruciate ligaments had
group, range of motion (123° in the surgical higher rates of flexion deficit, higher rates of pos-
group vs. 108° in the nonsurgical group) and terior instability, and lower rates of return to pre-
Lysholm scores (85.2 in the surgical group vs. injury activity levels. Studies by Stannard et al.
66.5 in the nonsurgical group) [32]. Richter et al. and Levy et al. demonstrated high reoperation
[17] reported significantly improved outcomes in and failure rates in patients with posterolateral
the surgical group compared to the nonsurgical injuries treated with repair, further strengthening
group in an evaluation of 89 patients with trau- the argument for reconstruction of the collateral
6 G. Moatshe et al.

ligaments [35, 36]. Anatomic reconstruction of


the injured structures using biomechanically vali-
dated techniques restores knee kinematics to near
normal and yields improved patient outcomes
[37–39]. Therefore, in the setting of multi-­
ligament injuries, reconstruction of all the torn
ligaments is recommended. Repair of the collat-
erals is usually reserved for bony avulsions that
are large enough to be fixed with hardware or
suture anchors [40].

1.2.2.4 Timing of Surgery


Timing of surgery during multi-ligament injuries
is a topic of debate, and there is still no consensus
on the point of demarcation between acute and Fig. 1.5 There is a high risk of tunnel interference
chronic. Some authors have used 3 weeks as the between the PCL (green) and POL (yellow) tunnels dur-
critical time to better identify and treat the struc- ing multi-ligament knee reconstructions. Aiming the POL
tures before scar tissue forms, making dissection tunnel 15 mm anterior to Gerdy’s tubercle (red) mini-
mizes the convergence with the PCL tunnel (green). The
and identification of the structures difficult, and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tunnel (blue) and the
tissue necrosis affects outcomes [10, 34, 41, 42]. tunnel for the popliteus tendon and the popliteofibular
However, some authors have used a 6-week time- ligament grafts (purple) are also shown. PCL posterior
line to demarcate between acute and chronic inju- cruciate ligament, POL posterior oblique ligament, ACL
anterior cruciate ligament
ries [37]. Studies have reported superior outcomes
in acutely treated patients compared to chronic
treated patients [1, 43]. Even though some sur- in these areas. Tunnel convergence increases the
geons are concerned about the risk of joint stiff- risk of reconstruction graft failure because of the
ness in acutely treated injuries, Levy et al. reported potential damage to reconstruction grafts, fixation
no difference in range of motion after acute and devices, and not having sufficient bone stock
chronic surgery in a systematic review of literature between the grafts for fixation and graft incorpora-
that included five studies [1]. The authors pre- tion. Moatshe et al. reported a 66.7% tunnel con-
ferred acute treatment of the injured structures to vergence rate between the posterior oblique
facilitate early rehabilitation [37]. In addition, ligament (POL) tunnel and the PCL tunnel in the
staging the reconstruction can potentially alter tibia when the POL tunnel was aimed at Gerdy’s
joint kinematics and increase the risk of graft fail- tubercle when evaluating the risk of tunnel conver-
ure [30, 31, 44]. In high-energy trauma, surgery gence using biomechanically validated anatomic
may be delayed because of injuries to the soft tis- reconstruction techniques (Fig. 1.5). They recom-
sue about the knee and concomitant injuries to mended that the POL tunnels be aimed to a point
other vital organs. However, stiffness in these 15 mm medial to Gerdy’s tubercle to reduce risk of
patients may be easier to treat than recurrent convergence with the PCL and that the superficial
instability. medial collateral ligament (sMCL) tunnel be aimed
30° distally to avoid convergence with the PCL
tunnel [45].
1.2.3 Surgical Treatment Pearls On the lateral femoral side, Moatshe et al. [46]
performed a 3D imaging study varying the angles
1.2.3.1 Avoiding Tunnel Convergence of the FCL and popliteus tunnels. A 35–40°
Reconstructing several reconstruction tunnels in angulation in the axial plane and 0° in the coronal
the distal femur and proximal tibia poses a risk of plane was safe and avoided tunnel convergence
tunnel convergence because of limited bone mass (Fig. 1.6). On the medial side, aiming the sMCL
1 Advances in Treatment of Complex Knee Injuries 7

Fig. 1.6 Illustration demonstrating tunnels on the lateral Fig. 1.7 Illustration demonstrating four tunnels in the
femur condyle during multi-ligament knee reconstruc- medial femoral condyle. With four potential tunnels in the
tions. Aiming the FCL (purple) and the popliteus (tur- medial femoral condyle, the risk of tunnel convergence is
quoise) 35–40° anteriorly minimizes the risk of tunnel high. Aiming the sMCL tunnel 40° anteriorly and 20–40°
convergence with the ACL (red) tunnel. ACL anterior cru- and the POL tunnel 20° anteriorly and proximally mini-
ciate ligament, FCL fibular collateral ligament, POP pop- mizes the risk of tunnel convergence (With permission
liteus tendon tunnel (With permission from Moatshe G, from Moatshe G, Brady AW, Slette EL, Chahla J, Turnbull
Brady AW, Slette EL, Chahla J, Turnbull TL, Engebretsen TL, Engebretsen L, LaPrade RF. Multiple Ligament
L, LaPrade RF. Multiple Ligament Reconstruction Reconstruction Femoral Tunnels: Intertunnel
Femoral Tunnels: Intertunnel Relationships and Relationships and Guidelines to Avoid Convergence. Am
Guidelines to Avoid Convergence. Am J Sports Med. 2017 J Sports Med. 2017 Mar;45(3):563-569.
Mar;45(3):563–569.

tunnel 40° in the axial and coronal planes and the


POL tunnel 20° in the axial and coronal planes
was safe to avoid convergence with the double-­
bundle PCL tunnels (Figs. 1.7 and 1.8). In a labo-
ratory study, Camarda et al. reported a high risk
of tunnel convergence between the ACL and the
FCL (69–75% depending on the length of the
tunnel) and recommended aiming the FCL tunnel
0° in the coronal plane and 20–40° in the axial
plane [47]. Gelber et al. evaluated tunnel conver-
gence and optimal angulation of the tunnels on
the medial femur condyle. They found that angu-
lations of 30° in the axial plane and coronal plane Fig. 1.8 An intraoperative picture demonstrating orienta-
tion of the sMCL tunnel on the femur to avoid conver-
reduced the risk of convergence with the PCL gence with the double-bundle PCL tunnels. The sMCL
tunnels [48]. However, the diameter of their PCL tunnel is aimed anteriorly and proximally to avoid conver-
tunnels was smaller than those used by Moatshe gence with the PCL tunnels. The adductors tendon is a
et al., and that can potentially explain the differ- “light house” on the medial side. The sMCL attaches
12 mm distal and 8 mm anterior to the adductor tubercle,
ences reported. which can be found just distal to the adductor tendon
attachment. sMCL superficial medial collateral ligament,
1.2.3.2 Tensioning Sequence PCL posterior cruciate ligament
The tensioning sequence in multi-ligament inju-
ries is a topic of debate, with different tensioning (Fig. 1.9), followed by the ACL in extension to
sequences having been reported in the literature. ensure the knee can be fully extended,
Some authors advocate for starting with the PCL ­posterolateral corner, and the posteromedial cor-
to restore the central pivot and tibial step-off ner last [49, 50].
8 G. Moatshe et al.

60° of flexion and neutral rotation, the ACL near


full extension, and finally the posteromedial cor-
ner. The PLC is fixed prior to the ACL to avoid
external rotation of the tibia during tensioning of
the ACL. Prepping the contralateral knee and
using an intraoperative C-arm may aid when
reducing the injured knee during graft tensioning
and fixation.

1.2.3.3 Rehabilitation
Another key step for a successful outcome is a
comprehensive and staged rehabilitation program
Fig. 1.9 An intraoperative picture showing reduction of a starting from day 1 postoperative. The main goals
right knee to restore tibial step-off prior to tensioning and are to protect the surgical reconstructions and to
fixing the anterolateral bundle (ALB) of the PCL. The
PCL is tensioned first to restore tibial step-off, followed
restore range of motion (ROM). All patients are
by the posterolateral corner (PLC) tension and fixation. instructed to remain non-weight bearing for
The ACL is fixed after the PLC and PCL, and the PMC is 6 weeks while wearing a brace (dynamic brace for
fixed last. ALB anterolateral bundle, PCL posterior cruci- PCL reconstruction patients), followed by a 2-week
ate ligament, PLC posterolateral corner, ACL anterior cru-
ciate ligament
period of weaning off crutches before achieving
full weight bearing at 8 weeks’ postsurgery. ROM
exercises are probably the most important part of
In a posterolateral corner-deficient knee, ten- the rehabilitation to avoid stiffness and include
sion during fixation of the ACL graft increased patellofemoral joint mobilization and tibiofemoral
external tibial rotation of the tibia [44]. This flexion and extension from 0–90°. Additionally, all
change in tibiofemoral orientation would change patients began quadriceps-­setting exercises day 1
joint mechanics and loading. Therefore, some postsurgery to achieve symmetrical active knee
authors advocate for fixing the posterolateral cor- extension at 6 weeks to facilitate a normal gait pat-
ner prior to the ACL to avoid external tibial rota- tern. A stationary bike was initiated at 6 weeks
tion. Markolf et al. reported that the PCL should postsurgery, depending on the range of motion.
be fixed prior to the ACL to best restore graft Although every rehabilitation protocol is custom-
forces, based on a biomechanical study of cadav- ized to the patient, the periodization concept was
eric bicruciate-injured knees [51]. Kim et al. retro- utilized and included the following phases: muscu-
spectively reviewed 25 patients with multi-ligament lar endurance, strength, and power development.
injuries, 14 with the PCL tensioned first, and 11 Each phase consists of at least 6 weeks to allow for
with simultaneous tension and fixing the ACL first physiological adaptation to the exercise stimulus.
and reported that posterior stress radiographs, Rehabilitation progress is assessed throughout the
Lysholm score, and IKDC scores favored fixing recovery, with clearance to return to activities pro-
the ACL first [52]. There is currently no consensus vided once patients had achieved a quadriceps
regarding the optimal tensioning sequence, and index greater than 90% and a passing grade on the
there is a need for well-­designed biomechanical Vail Sport Test [54].
studies [53]. Such biomechanical studies will lay
ground for multicenter clinical studies to evaluate
the optimal tensioning sequence. The author’s pre- 1.2.4  utcomes and Prevalence
O
ferred tensioning sequence is fixing the anterolat- of Osteoarthritis After Knee
eral bundle of the PCL at 90° to restore the normal Dislocation Surgery
tibial step-off, the posteromedial bundle of the
PCL in extension, the FCL (LCL) at 20–30° of Surgical management is recommended for multi-­
knee flexion, neutral rotation, and a slight valgus ligament knee injuries; therefore, this section will
force, followed by the rest of the PLC structures at focus on outcomes after surgical management.
1 Advances in Treatment of Complex Knee Injuries 9

Good functional outcomes are reported in short including high-energy trauma [10], repair of
to medium follow-up after surgical treatment of medial-sided injury [56], age >30 years [55, 57],
multi-ligament injuries [1, 10]. In a follow-up of concomitant cartilage injury [58], and combined
85 patients with knee dislocations at 2–9 years, medial and lateral meniscal tears [58].
Engebretsen et al. reported improved patient-­ Despite good functional outcomes reported by
reported outcomes with a mean Lysholm of 83, these studies [37, 39, 43, 49, 59, 60], posttrau-
median Tegner activity score of 5, and mean matic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a common prob-
IKDC 2000 subjective score of 64 [10]. Moatshe lem, reported to range from 23 to 87% [10, 43,
et al. [55] reported a mean Lysholm score of 84, 60] in the different studies (Fig. 1.11).
Tegner score of 4, and subjective IKDC 73 in a Engebretsen et al. reported an 87% prevalence of
follow-up of 65 patients with multi-ligament PTOA, evaluated by the Kellgren-Lawrence
knee injuries at a minimum follow-up of 10 years (grade II or more) classification, after knee dislo-
demonstrating that good functional outcomes are cation surgery of the patients in a cohort of 85
possible at medium to long term. Geeslin and patients at 5–9 years’ follow-up. In a follow-up
LaPrade [37] reported on 29 patients (30 knees), of 68 patients at a median follow-up time of
8 knees had isolated posterolateral corner inju- 12 years (range, 1–27 years), Hirschmann et al.
ries, and 22 knees had combined ligament inju- reported a 31% prevalence of PTOA, and 16%
ries involving the posterolateral corner. At a had grade III and IV on Kellgren-Lawrence scale
mean follow-up of 2.4 years, Cincinnati and [43]. Fanelli et al. reported degenerative changes
IKDC subjective outcome scores improved from in 23% (10 of the 44) of the patients treated for
21.9 to 81.4 and 29.1 to 81.5, respectively. Side-­ knee dislocations at a mean follow-up of 10 years
to-­
side varus gapping on stress radiographs (range 5–22 years) [60].In a recent evaluation of
improved from 6.2 mm preoperatively to 0.1 mm knee dislocation patients treated surgically at a
postoperatively [37]. Postoperative stress radio- minimum follow-up time of 10 years, Moatshe
graphs are an important objective method of eval- et al. [55] reported that 42% of the cohort had
uating stability (Fig. 1.10). Certain factors have radiologic osteoarthritis (KL ≥ 2) in the injured
been reported to correlate with poor outcomes knee compared to only 6% in the uninjured knee.

Fig. 1.10 Postoperative varus stress radiographs demon- eral knee Postoperative stress radiographs are valuable in
strating a 0.1 mm side-to-side difference in the lateral evaluating knee stability.
compartment gapping compared to the normal contralat-
10 G. Moatshe et al.

Fig. 1.11 A plain radiograph showing posttraumatic knee has no sign of osteoarthritis. ACL anterior cruciate
osteoarthritis on the right knee after knee dislocation sur- ligament, PCL posterior cruciate ligament, sMCL superfi-
gery involving the ACL, PCL, and sMCL. The injured left cial medial collateral ligament

and better restoration of knee function.


1.2.5 Future Treatment Options Biomechanical studies are necessary to evaluate
the effects of the different tensioning orders to the
Multi-ligament knee injuries are complex, and a knee kinematics. This will potentially pave the way
high level of suspicion is required when evaluating for multicenter clinical studies to evaluate this in
these patients. Some of the concurrent ligament clinical settings. In addition, several reconstruction
and meniscal injuries may be missed initially, and grafts are often needed during this type of surgery,
this requires a detailed history and clinical exami- posing a problem in areas where allografts are not
nation, supplemented with MRI and stress radio- available. Optimal reconstruction in the setting
graphs as part of the initial workup. Failure to treat where allografts are not available is an area that
all injured structures can lead to changes in knee needs further research. With the growing popula-
kinematics and hence poorer outcomes and an tion and more grown-up people wanting to remain
increased risk of graft failure. Treating all the active, there is a need for research on enhancing
injured structures in the acute phase is recom- healing of the reconstruction grafts because of poor
mended in order to facilitate early rehabilitation healing potential that comes with age.
1 Advances in Treatment of Complex Knee Injuries 11

1.2.6 Take-Home Messages 5. Shelbourne KD, Pritchard J, Rettig AC, McCarroll


JR, Vanmeter CD. Knee dislocations with intact
PCL. Orthop Rev. 1992;21:607–8. 610–601
• Multi-ligament injuries are challenging and 6. Schenck RC Jr. The dislocated knee. Instr Course
require a detailed preoperative diagnosis, Lect. 1994;43:127–36.
treatment plan, and a dedicated surgical and 7. Arom GA, Yeranosian MG, Petrigliano FA, Terrell
RD, McAllister DR. The changing demographics of
rehabilitation team to take care of the patients.
knee dislocation: a retrospective database review. Clin
• Stress radiographs are valuable preoperatively Orthop Relat Res. 2014;472:2609–14.
to evaluate the torn ligaments and plan the sur- 8. Shields L, Mital M, Cave EF. Complete dislocation
gery and postoperatively to evaluate the integ- of the knee: experience at the Massachusetts General
Hospital. J Trauma. 1969;9:192–215.
rity of the ligament reconstructions.
9. Shelbourne KD, Klootwyk TE. Low-velocity knee
• Posterolateral injuries are commonly associ- dislocation with sports injuries. Treatment principles.
ated with peroneal nerve and vascular injuries. Clin Sports Med. 2000;19:443–56.
Furthermore, the odds of vascular injuries are 10. Engebretsen L, Risberg MA, Robertson B, Ludvigsen
TC, Johansen S. Outcome after knee dislocations: a
higher in the presence of a peroneal nerve
2-9 years follow-up of 85 consecutive patients. Knee
injury. A high level of suspicion is advocated. Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2009;17:1013–26.
• Avoid tunnel convergence by detailed preop- 11. Moatshe G, Dornan GJ, Løken S, Ludvigsen TC,
erative and intraoperative planning; the FCL LaPrade RF, Engebretsen L. Knee dislocations
demographics and associated injuries: a prospec-
tunnel should be aimed anteriorly or anteri-
tive review of 303 patients. Orthop J Sports Med.
orly and proximally to avoid convergence 2017;5(5):2325967117706521.
with the ACL tunnel. The sMCL tunnel and 12. Werner BC, Gwathmey FW Jr, Higgins ST, Hart JM,
the POL tunnels should be aimed anteriorly Miller MD. Ultra-low velocity knee dislocations:
patient characteristics, complications, and outcomes.
and proximally to avoid convergence with the
Am J Sports Med. 2014;42:358–63.
PCL tunnels. 13. Becker EH, Watson JD, Dreese JC. Investigation of
• A well-designed, customized rehabilitation multiligamentous knee injury patterns with associated
protocol is mandatory for good outcomes. The injuries presenting at a level I trauma center. J Orthop
Trauma. 2013;27:226–31.
reconstruction grafts should be protected in a
14. Geeslin AG, LaPrade RF. Location of bone bruises
brace, while healing, and periodization of the and other osseous injuries associated with acute grade
rehabilitation is important. III isolated and combined posterolateral knee injuries.
• Treatment of these complex cases should be Am J Sports Med. 2010;38:2502–8.
15. Medina O, Arom GA, Yeranosian MG, Petrigliano
centralized and treated by dedicated teams
FA, McAllister DR. Vascular and nerve injury after
with extensive surgical experience and knee dislocation: a systematic review. Clin Orthop
volume. Relat Res. 2014;472:2621–9.
16. Krych AJ, Sousa PL, King AH, Engasser WM, Stuart
MJ, Levy BA. Meniscal tears and articular cartilage
damage in the dislocated knee. Knee Surg Sports
Traumatol Arthrosc. 2015;23:3019–25.
References 17. Richter M, Bosch U, Wippermann B, Hofmann A,
Krettek C. Comparison of surgical repair or recon-
1. Levy BA, Dajani KA, Whelan DB, et al. Decision struction of the cruciate ligaments versus nonsurgical
making in the multiligament-injured knee: an treatment in patients with traumatic knee dislocations.
evidence-based systematic review. Arthroscopy. Am J Sports Med. 2002;30:718–27.
2009;25:430–8. 18. Robertson A, Nutton RW, Keating JF. Dislocation of
2. Wascher DC, Dvirnak PC, DeCoster TA. Knee dislo- the knee. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2006;88:706–11.
cation: initial assessment and implications for treat- 19. Wascher DC. High-velocity knee dislocation with
ment. J Orthop Trauma. 1997;11:525–9. vascular injury. Treatment principles. Clin Sports
3. Schenck R. Classification of knee dislocations. Oper Med. 2000;19:457–77.
Tech Sports Med. 2003;11:193–8. 20. Molund M, Engebretsen L, Hvaal K, Hellesnes J,
4. Bratt HD, Newman AP. Complete dislocation of the Ellingsen Husebye E. Posterior tibial tendon transfer
knee without disruption of both cruciate ligaments. improves function for foot drop after knee dislocation.
J Trauma. 1993;34:383–9. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2014;472:2637–43.
12 G. Moatshe et al.

21. Kendall RW, Taylor DC, Salvian AJ, O’Brien PJ. The 36. Stannard JP, Brown SL, Farris RC, McGwin G Jr,
role of arteriography in assessing vascular injuries Volgas DA. The posterolateral corner of the knee:
associated with dislocations of the knee. J Trauma. repair versus reconstruction. Am J Sports Med.
1993;35:875–8. 2005;33:881–8.
22. Levy BA, Fanelli GC, Whelan DB, et al. Controversies 37. Geeslin AG, LaPrade RF. Outcomes of treatment of
in the treatment of knee dislocations and multi- acute grade-III isolated and combined posterolateral
ligament reconstruction. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. knee injuries: a prospective case series and surgical
2009;17:197–206. technique. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2011;93:1672–83.
23. Mills WJ, Barei DP, McNair P. The value of the 38. LaPrade RF, Griffith CJ, Coobs BR, Geeslin AG,
ankle-brachial index for diagnosing arterial injury Johansen S, Engebretsen L. Improving outcomes
after knee dislocation: a prospective study. J Trauma. for posterolateral knee injuries. J Orthop Res.
2004;56:1261–5. 2014;32:485–91.
24. Carr JB, Werner BC, Miller MD, Gwathmey FW. 39. Spiridonov SI, Slinkard NJ, LaPrade RF. Isolated and
Knee dislocation in the morbidly obese patient. J combined grade-III posterior cruciate ligament tears
Knee Surg. 2016;29:278–86. treated with double-bundle reconstruction with use
25. Klineberg EO, Crites BM, Flinn WR, Archibald JD, of endoscopically placed femoral tunnels and grafts:
Moorman CT 3rd. The role of arteriography in assess- operative technique and clinical outcomes. J Bone
ing popliteal artery injury in knee dislocations. J Joint Surg Am. 2011;93:1773–80.
Trauma. 2004;56:786–90. 40. Geeslin AG, Moulton SG, LaPrade RF. A systematic
26. Stuart MJ. Evaluation and treatment principles of knee review of the outcomes of posterolateral corner knee
dislocations. Oper Tech Sports Med. 2001;9:91–5. injuries, part 1: surgical treatment of acute injuries.
27. Jackman T, LaPrade RF, Pontinen T, Lender PA. Am J Sports Med. 2016;44:1336.
Intraobserver and interobserver reliability of the 41. Fanelli GC, Giannotti BF, Edson CJ. Arthroscopically
kneeling technique of stress radiography for the assisted combined posterior cruciate ligament/pos-
evaluation of posterior knee laxity. Am J Sports Med. terior lateral complex reconstruction. Arthroscopy.
2008;36:1571–6. 1996;12:521–30.
28. James EW, Williams BT, LaPrade RF. Stress radi- 42. Harner CD, Waltrip RL, Bennett CH, Francis KA,
ography for the diagnosis of knee ligament inju- Cole B, Irrgang JJ. Surgical management of knee dis-
ries: a systematic review. Clin Orthop Relat Res. locations. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2004;86-A:262–73.
2014;472:2644–57. 43. Hirschmann MT, Zimmermann N, Rychen T, et al.
29. Laprade RF, Bernhardson AS, Griffith CJ, Macalena Clinical and radiological outcomes after management
JA, Wijdicks CA. Correlation of valgus stress of traumatic knee dislocation by open single stage
radiographs with medial knee ligament injuries: complete reconstruction/repair. BMC Musculoskelet
an in vitro biomechanical study. Am J Sports Med. Disord. 2010;11:102.
2010;38:330–8. 44. Wentorf FA, LaPrade RF, Lewis JL, Resig S. The
30. LaPrade RF, Muench C, Wentorf F, Lewis JL. The influence of the integrity of posterolateral structures
effect of injury to the posterolateral structures of on tibiofemoral orientation when an anterior cruci-
the knee on force in a posterior cruciate ligament ate ligament graft is tensioned. Am J Sports Med.
graft: a biomechanical study. Am J Sports Med. 2002;30:796–9.
2002;30:233–8. 45. Moatshe G, Slette EL, Engebretsen L, LaPrade RF.
31. LaPrade RF, Resig S, Wentorf F, Lewis JL. The effects Intertunnel relationships in the tibia during recon-
of grade III posterolateral knee complex injuries on struction of multiple knee ligaments: how to avoid
anterior cruciate ligament graft force. A biomechani- tunnel convergence. Am J Sports Med. 2016;44(11):
cal analysis. Am J Sports Med. 1999;27:469–75. 2864–9.
32. Dedmond BT, Almekinders LC. Operative versus 46. Moatshe G, Brady AW, Slette EL, et al. Multiple liga-
nonoperative treatment of knee dislocations: a meta-­ ment reconstruction femoral tunnels: intertunnel rela-
analysis. Am J Knee Surg. 2001;14:33–8. tionships and guidelines to avoid convergence. Am J
33. Peskun CJ, Whelan DB. Outcomes of operative and Sports Med. 2017;45(3):563–9.
nonoperative treatment of multiligament knee inju- 47. Camarda L, D’Arienzo M, Patera GP, Filosto L,
ries: an evidence-based review. Sports Med Arthrosc LaPrade RF. Avoiding tunnel collisions between fibu-
Rev. 2011;19:167–73. lar collateral ligament and ACL posterolateral bundle
34. Mariani PP, Santoriello P, Iannone S, Condello V, reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc.
Adriani E. Comparison of surgical treatments for knee 2011;19:598–603.
dislocation. Am J Knee Surg. 1999;12:214–21. 48. Gelber PE, Masferrer-Pino A, Erquicia JI, et al.
35. Levy BA, Dajani KA, Morgan JA, Shah JP, Dahm Femoral tunnel drilling angles for posteromedial
DL, Stuart MJ. Repair versus reconstruction of the corner reconstructions of the knee. Arthroscopy.
fibular collateral ligament and posterolateral corner 2015;31:1764–71.
in the multiligament-injured knee. Am J Sports Med. 49. Fanelli GC, Edson CJ. Surgical treatment of com-
2010;38:804–9. bined PCL-ACL medial and lateral side injuries
1 Advances in Treatment of Complex Knee Injuries 13

(global laxity): surgical technique and 2- to 18-year osteoarthritis at a minimum 10-year follow-up after
results. J Knee Surg. 2012;25:307–16. knee dislocation surgery. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol
50. Levy BA, Boyd JL, Stuart MJ. Surgical treatment of Arthrosc. 2017;25(12):3914-3922.
acute and chronic anterior and posterior cruciate liga- 56. King AH, Krych AJ, Prince MR, Pareek A, Stuart MJ,
ment and lateral side injuries of the knee. Sports Med Levy BA. Surgical outcomes of medial versus lateral
Arthrosc Rev. 2011;19:110–9. multiligament-injured, dislocated knees. Arthroscopy.
51. Markolf KL, O’Neill G, Jackson SR, McAllister 2016;32:1814.
DR. Reconstruction of knees with combined cruciate 57. Levy NM, Krych AJ, Hevesi M, et al. Does age pre-
deficiencies: a biomechanical study. J Bone Joint Surg dict outcome after multiligament knee reconstruction
Am. 2003;85-A:1768–74. for the dislocated knee? 2- to 22-year follow-up. Knee
52. Kim SJ, Kim SH, Jung M, Kim JM, Lee SW. Does Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2015;23:3003–7.
sequence of graft tensioning affect outcomes in com- 58. King AH, Krych AJ, Prince MR, Sousa PL, Stuart
bined anterior and posterior cruciate ligament recon- MJ, Levy BA. Are meniscal tears and articular car-
structions? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2015;473:235–43. tilage injury predictive of inferior patient outcome
53. Levy BA. CORR insights(R): does sequence of graft after surgical reconstruction for the dislocated knee?
tensioning affect outcomes in combined anterior and Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2015;23:
posterior cruciate ligament reconstructions? Clin 3008–11.
Orthop Relat Res. 2015;473:244–5. 59. Fanelli GC, Edson CJ. Arthroscopically assisted com-
54. Garrison JC, Shanley E, Thigpen C, Geary R, Osler bined anterior and posterior cruciate ligament recon-
M, Delgiorno J. The reliability of the vail sport test as struction in the multiple ligament injured knee: 2- to
a measure of physical performance following anterior 10-year follow-up. Arthroscopy. 2002;18:703–14.
cruciate ligament reconstruction. Int J Sports Phys 60. Fanelli GC, Sousa PL, Edson CJ. Long-term follow
Ther. 2012;7:20–30. up of surgically treated knee dislocations: stability
55. Moatshe G, Dornan GJ, Ludvigsen TC, Løken S, restored, but arthritis is common. Clin Orthop Relat
LaPrade RF, Engebretsen L. High prevalence of knee Res. 2014;472:2712–7.
“Small” Fractures Below the Knee:
Do Not Miss—Do Not Mistreat!
2
Pieter d’Hooghe, B. Krivokapic,
Gino M.M.J. Kerkhoffs, Christiaan van Bergen,
Peter G. van Doesburg, Laura Bloem,
Pietro Spennacchio, D. Cucchi, Joe Wagener,
Christopher diGiovanni, Tonya Dixon,
and Sjoerd Stufkens

2.1 Introduction several common “small” fractures of the foot and


ankle, not to be missed, not to be mistreated.
Many of the small fractures below the knee are
known by eponyms. Although some are well
known such as the Maisonneuve and Lisfranc 2.1.1 Maisonneuve Fracture [1–15]
fractures, several are less well known, such as the
Cedell and Tillaux fractures. Unfamiliarity with The Maisonneuve fracture is on this list because of
these small fractures may result in failure of its reputation to be overlooked, not because of its
detection at initial emergency department sur- benign nature. On the contrary, it is an ankle frac-
veys or treated suboptimally by lack of experi- ture by definition; suboptimal treatment may pre-
ence. This ICL chapter consists of an overview of dispose the ankle to the onset of posttraumatic
osteoarthritis (Fig. 2.1). Pankovich appreciates
five stages of the Maisonneuve fracture: rupture of
P. d’Hooghe • B. Krivokapic the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL), rupture
Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, of the interosseous membrane, fracture or rupture
Doha, Qatar
e-mail: pieter.orthopedie@gmail.com
of the posterior talofibular ligament (PTFL), rup-
ture of the anteromedial joint capsule, and fracture
G.M.M.J Kerkhoffs • S. Stufkens (*)
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Academic
of the fibula and a rupture of the deltoid ligament
Center for Evidence-Based Sports Medicine, or fracture of the medial malleolus. Since 7–15%
Academic Medical Center, of the body weight is transferred through the fib-
Amsterdam, The Netherlands ula, shortening will lead to lateral tibiotalar over-
e-mail: stufkens@gmail.com
load. Late repairs of syndesmotic injuries have less
C. van Bergen • P.G. van Doesburg • L. Bloem favorable outcome than primary stabilization.
Spaarne Gasthuis, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands
P. Spennacchio • D. Cucchi
Clinique du Sport, Centre Hospitalier de
Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2.1.2 Posterior Malleolus
Fracture [16–21]
J. Wagener
Team Fuss und Sprunggelenk, Kantonsspital
Baselland, Liestal, Switzerland Approximately 7–44% of ankle fractures have
C. diGiovanni • T. Dixon
involvement of a posterior tibial fragment. Patients
Department of Orthopedics, Massachusetts General with fractures that include a posterior tibial frag-
Hospital, Boston, MA, USA ment tend to have a poorer prognosis than fractures
© ESSKA 2018 15
G.M.M.J. Kerkhoffs et al. (eds.), ESSKA Instructional Course Lecture Book,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56127-0_2
16 P. d’Hooghe et al.

to the pull of the anterior inferior tibiofibular lig-


ament. In adolescents, physeal closure follows a
predictable pattern from the anterolateral aspect
of the medial malleolus to the posteromedial
physis, then the posterolateral, and finally the
anterolateral aspect. Because the distal lateral
tibial growth plate is still open, adolescent Tillaux
fracture is classified as a Salter-Harris type III
epiphyseal fracture or, rarely, as a Salter-Harris
IV fracture, of the distal tibia.

2.1.4 Osteochondral Talar


Fracture [38–47]

Osteochondral talar fractures are rarely seen as a


fresh injury. However, they are a commonly
encountered foot and ankle disorder in an elective
practice. In the majority of cases, patients with
this pathology have a history of ankle sprains and/
or fractures. Internal fixation of an osteochondral
talar defect shows good results in the literature.
However, in most studies, arthrotomies with or
without a malleolar osteotomy were performed to
fixate the osteochondral defects (OCDs).

2.1.5 Lateral Talar Process


Fracture [48–59]

Fig. 2.1 Missed Maisonneuve fracture The lateral talar process provides stability to the
ankle mortise and forms the talofibular and subta-
without posterior involvement. Haraguchi and col- lar articulations. A lateral process fracture com-
leagues classified posterior malleolar fractures into prises 6% of all ankle fractures and 24% of
three types, based on pathoanatomy of posterior fractures of the talar body. A lateral talar process
malleolar fragments. The deep deltoid ligament fracture should be evaluated as an impact and
can be attached to the posteromedial fragments, crush injury instead of an avulsion injury. Because
which has significant implications for stability. of the mechanism of injury, a lateral process frac-
There seems a remarkable preference to fix ture is often seen in snowboarders. Nonunion
Haraguchi type I fractures. These larger posterolat- rates of 60% are found in missed or conserva-
eral fragments are best visible on plain lateral tively treated lateral talar process fractures.
radiographs. Posteromedial fragments are at risk of Nonunion rates of only 5% are found in lateral
being overlooked and undertreated and may lead to talar process fractures managed operatively.
persisting medial instability in cases of malunion.

2.1.6 Cedell Fracture [60–65]


2.1.3 Tillaux Fracture [22–37]
Carl-Axel Cedell, a Swedish orthopedic surgeon,
Paul Jules Tillaux is credited to have discovered first described four cases of posteromedial talar
that an anterolateral distal tibial fracture was due tubercle fractures. This fracture is rare and often
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
to await reinforcements. Brown followed as far as Queenston, where
he camped July 10, doubtful what next to do. Fretting under the
enforced delay, he wrote to Commodore Chauncey, July 13, a letter
that led to much comment:[61]—
“I have looked for your fleet with the greatest anxiety since the
10th. I do not doubt my ability to meet the enemy in the field, and to
march in any direction over his country, your fleet carrying for me the
necessary supplies.... There is not a doubt resting in my mind but that
we have between us the command of sufficient means to conquer
Upper Canada within two months, if there is a prompt and zealous co-
operation and a vigorous application of these means.”
Brown, like Andrew Jackson, with the virtues of a militia general,
possessed some of the faults. His letter to Chauncey expressed his
honest belief; but he was mistaken, and the letter tended to create a
popular impression that Chauncey was wholly to blame. Brown could
not, even with Chauncey’s help, conquer Upper Canada. He was in
danger of being himself destroyed; and even at Queenston he was
not safe. Riall had already received, July 9, a reinforcement of seven
hundred regulars;[62] at his camp, only thirteen miles from Brown, he
had twenty-two hundred men; in garrison at Fort George and
Niagara he left more than a thousand men; Lieutenant-General
Drummond was on his way from Kingston with the Eighty-ninth
regiment four hundred strong, under Colonel Morrison, who had won
the battle of Chrystler’s Field, while still another regiment,
DeWatteville’s, was on the march. Four thousand men were
concentrating on Fort George, and Chauncey, although he might
have delayed, could not have prevented their attacking Brown, or
stopping his advance.
Brown was so well aware of his own weakness that he neither
tried to assault Fort George nor to drive Riall farther away, although
Ripley and the two engineer officers McRee and Wood advised the
attempt.[63] After a fortnight passed below Queenston, he suddenly
withdrew to Chippawa July 24, and camped on the battle-field. Riall
instantly left his camp at eleven o’clock in the night of July 24, and
followed Brown’s retreat with about a thousand men, as far as
Lundy’s Lane, only a mile below the Falls of Niagara. There he
camped at seven o’clock on the morning of July 25, waiting for the
remainder of his force, about thirteen hundred men, who marched at
noon, and were to arrive at sunset.
The battle of Chippawa and three weeks of active campaigning
had told on the Americans. According to the army returns of the last
week in July, Brown’s army at Chippawa, July 25, numbered twenty-
six hundred effectives.[64]

Strength of Major-General Brown’s Army, Chippawa, July 25, 1814.


Present for Duty. Aggregate.
Non-com. Officers, Present and
rank-and-file. absent.
Scott’s Brigade 1072 1422
Ripley’s Brigade 895 1198
Porter’s Brigade 441 538
Artillery 236 260
Total 2644 3418
Thus Brown at Chippawa bridge, on the morning of July 25, with
twenty-six hundred men present for duty, had Riall within easy reach
three miles away at Lundy’s Lane, with only a thousand men; but
Brown expected no such sudden movement from the enemy, and
took no measures to obtain certain information. He was with reason
anxious for his rear. His position was insecure and unsatisfactory
except for attack. From the moment it became defensive, it was
unsafe and needed to be abandoned.
The British generals were able to move on either bank of the river.
While Riall at seven o’clock in the morning went into camp within a
mile of Niagara Falls, Lieutenant-General Gordon Drummond with
the Eighty-ninth regiment disembarked at Fort George, intending to
carry out a long-prepared movement on the American side.[65]
Gordon Drummond, who succeeded Major-General de
Rottenburg in the command of Upper Canada in December, 1813,
and immediately distinguished himself by the brilliant capture of Fort
Niagara and the destruction of Buffalo, was regarded as the ablest
military officer in Canada. Isaac Brock’s immediate successors in the
civil and military government of Upper Canada were Major-Generals
Sheaffe and De Rottenburg. Neither had won distinction; but Gordon
Drummond was an officer of a different character. Born in 1772, he
entered the army in 1789 as an ensign in the First regiment, or Royal
Scots, and rose in 1794 to be lieutenant-colonel of the Eighth, or
King’s regiment. He served in the Netherlands, the West Indies, and
in Egypt, before being ordered to Canada in 1808. In 1811 he
became lieutenant-general. He was at Kingston when his
subordinate officer, Major-General Riall, lost the battle of Chippawa
and retired toward Burlington Heights. Having sent forward all the
reinforcements he could spare, Drummond followed as rapidly as
possible to take command in person.
No sooner did Drummond reach Fort George than, in pursuance
of orders previously given, he sent a detachment of about six
hundred men across the river to Lewiston. Its appearance there was
at once made known to Brown at Chippawa, only six or seven miles
above, and greatly alarmed him for the safety of his base at Fort
Schlosser, Black Rock, and Buffalo. Had Drummond advanced up
the American side with fifteen hundred men, as he might have done,
he would have obliged Brown to re-cross the river, and might
perhaps have destroyed or paralyzed him; but Drummond decided to
join Riall, and accordingly, recalling the detachment from Lewiston at
four o’clock in the afternoon, he began his march up the Canadian
side with eight hundred and fifteen rank-and-file to Lundy’s Lane.[66]
At five o’clock, July 25, the British army was nearly concentrated.
The advance under Riall at Lundy’s Lane numbered nine hundred
and fifty rank-and-file, with the three field-pieces which had been in
the battle of Chippawa, and either two or three six-pounders.[67]
Drummond was three miles below with eight hundred and fifteen
rank-and-file, marching up the river; and Colonel Scott of the One
Hundred-and-third regiment, with twelve hundred and thirty rank-
and-file and two more six-pound field-pieces, was a few miles behind
Drummond.[68] By nine o’clock in the evening the three corps,
numbering three thousand rank-and-file, with eight field-pieces, were
to unite at Lundy’s Lane.
At a loss to decide on which bank the British generals meant to
move, Brown waited until afternoon, and then, in great anxiety for the
American side of the river, ordered Winfield Scott to march his
brigade down the road toward Queenston on the Canadian side, in
the hope of recalling the enemy from the American side by alarming
him for the safety of his rear. Scott, always glad to be in motion,
crossed Chippawa bridge, with his brigade and Towson’s battery,
soon after five o’clock, and to his great surprise, in passing a house
near the Falls, learned that a large body of British troops was in sight
below. With his usual audacity he marched directly upon them, and
reaching Lundy’s Lane, deployed to the left in line of battle. Jesup,
Brady, Leavenworth, and McNeil placed their little battalions,
numbering at the utmost a thousand rank-and-file, in position, and
Towson opened with his three guns. The field suited their ambition.
The sun was setting at the end of a long, hot, midsummer day. About
a mile to their right the Niagara River flowed through its chasm, and
the spray of the cataract rose in the distance behind them.
PLAN OF THE
BATTLE
OF
LUNDY’S LANE
AT SUNSET
STRUTHERS & CO., ENGR’S, N. Y.

At the first report that the American army was approaching, Riall
ordered a retreat, and his advance was already in march from the
field when Drummond arrived with the Eighty-ninth regiment, and
countermanded the order.[69] Drummond then formed his line,
numbering according to his report sixteen hundred men, but in reality
seventeen hundred and seventy rank-and-file,[70]—the left resting on
the high road, his two twenty-four-pound brass field-pieces, two six-
pounders, and a five-and-a-half-inch howitzer a little advanced in
front of his centre on the summit of the low hill, and his right
stretching forward so as to overlap Scott’s position in attacking.
Lundy’s Lane, at right angles with the river, ran close behind the
British position. Hardly had he completed his formation, when, in his
own words, “the whole front was warmly and closely engaged.”
With all the energy Scott could throw into his blow, he attacked
the British left and centre. Drummond’s left stopped slightly beyond
the road, and was assailed by Jesup’s battalion, the Twenty-fifth
regiment, while Scott’s other battalions attacked in front. So vigorous
was Jesup’s assault that he forced back the Royal Scots and Eighty-
ninth, and got into the British rear, where he captured Major-General
Riall himself, as he left the field seriously wounded. “After repeated
attacks,” said Drummond’s report, “the troops on the left were
partially forced back, and the enemy gained a momentary
possession of the road.” In the centre also Scott attacked with
obstinacy; but the British artillery was altogether too strong and
posted too high for Towson’s three guns, which at last ceased firing.
[71] There the Americans made no impression, while they were
overlapped and outnumbered by the British right.
From seven till nine o’clock Scott’s brigade hung on the British left
and centre, charging repeatedly close on the enemy’s guns; and
when at last with the darkness their firing ceased from sheer
exhaustion, they were not yet beaten. Brady’s battalion, the Ninth
and Twenty-second, and McNeil’s, the Eleventh, were broken up;
their ammunition was exhausted, and most of their officers were
killed or wounded. The Eleventh and Twenty-second regiments lost
two hundred and thirty men killed, wounded, and missing, or more
than half their number; many of the men left the field, and only with
difficulty could a battalion be organized from the debris.[72] McNeil
and Brady were wounded, and Major Leavenworth took command of
the remnant. With a small and exhausted force which could not have
numbered more than six hundred men, and which Drummond by a
vigorous movement might have wholly destroyed, Scott clung to the
enemy’s flank until in the darkness Ripley’s brigade came down on
the run. The American line was also reinforced by Porter’s brigade;
by the First regiment, one hundred and fifty strong, which crossed
from the American side of the river; and by Ritchie’s and Biddle’s
batteries.
At about the same time the rest of Riall’s force, twelve hundred
and thirty rank-and-file, with two more six-pound guns, appeared on
the field, and were placed in a second line or used to prolong the
British right. If Scott had lost four hundred men from the ranks
Drummond had certainly lost no more, for his men were less
exposed. Brown was obliged to leave details of men for camp duty;
Drummond brought three thousand rank-and-file on the field. At nine
o’clock Drummond could scarcely have had fewer than twenty-six
hundred men in Lundy’s Lane, with seven field-pieces, two of which
were twenty-four-pounders. Brown could scarcely have had nineteen
hundred, even allowing Porter to have brought five hundred of his
volunteers into battle.[73] He had also Towson’s, Ritchie’s, and
Biddle’s batteries,—seven twelve-pound field-pieces in all.
As long as the British battery maintained its fire in the centre,
victory was impossible and escape difficult.[74] Ripley’s brigade alone
could undertake the task of capturing the British guns, and to it the
order was given. Colonel Miller was to advance with the Twenty-first
regiment against the British battery in front.[75] Ripley himself took
command of the Twenty-third regiment on the right, to lead it by the
road to attack the enemy’s left flank in Lundy’s Lane. According to
the story that for the next fifty years was told to every American
school-boy as a model of modest courage, General Brown gave to
Miller the order to carry the enemy’s artillery, and Miller answered,
“I’ll try!”[76]
The two regiments thus thrown on the enemy’s centre and left
numbered probably about seven hundred men in the ranks,
according to Ripley’s belief. The Twenty-first regiment was the
stronger, and may have contained four hundred and fifty men,
including officers; the Twenty-third could scarcely have brought three
hundred into the field. In a few minutes both battalions were in
motion. The Twenty-third, advancing along the road on the right,
instantly attracted the enemy’s fire at about one hundred and fifty
yards from the hill, and was thrown back. Ripley reformed the
column, and in five minutes it advanced again.[77] While the Twenty-
third was thus engaged on the right, the Twenty-first silently
advanced in front, covered by shrubbery and the darkness, within a
few rods of the British battery undiscovered, and with a sudden rush
carried the guns, bayoneting the artillery-men where they stood.
So superb a feat of arms might well startle the British general,
who could not see that less than five hundred men were engaged in
it; but according to the British account[78] the guns stood immediately
in front of a British line numbering at least twenty-six hundred men in
ranks along Lundy’s Lane. Drummond himself must have been near
the spot, for the whole line of battle was but five minutes’ walk;
apparently he had but to order an advance, to drive Miller’s regiment
back without trouble. Yet Miller maintained his ground until Ripley
came up on his right. According to the evidence of Captain
McDonald of Ripley’s staff, the battle was violent during fifteen or
twenty minutes:—
“Having passed the position where the artillery had been planted,
Colonel Miller again formed his line facing the enemy, and engaged
them within twenty paces distance. There appeared a perfect sheet of
fire between the two lines. While the Twenty-first was in this situation,
the Twenty-third attacked the enemy’s flank, and advanced within
twenty paces of it before the first volley was discharged,—a measure
adopted by command of General Ripley, that the fire might be
effectual and more completely destructive. The movement compelled
the enemy’s flank to fall back immediately by descending the hill out of
sight, upon which the firing ceased.”[79]
Perhaps this feat was more remarkable than the surprise of the
battery. Ripley’s Twenty-third regiment, about three hundred men,
broke the British line, not in the centre but on its left, where the
Eighty-ninth, the Royal Scots, King’s, and the Forty-first were
stationed,[80] and caused them to retire half a mile from the battle-
field before they halted to reform.
When the firing ceased, Ripley’s brigade held the hill-top, with the
British guns, and the whole length of Lundy’s Lane to the high-road.
Porter then brought up his brigade on the left; Hindman brought up
his guns, and placed Towson’s battery on Ripley’s right, Ritchie’s on
his left, while Biddle’s two guns were put in position on the road near
the corner of Lundy’s Lane. Jesup with the Twenty-fifth regiment was
put in line on the right of Towson’s battery; Leavenworth with the
remnants of the Ninth, Eleventh, and Twenty-second formed a
second line in the rear of the captured artillery; and thus reversing
the former British order of battle, the little army stood ranked along
the edge of Lundy’s Lane, with the British guns in their rear.
PLAN OF THE
BATTLE
OF
LUNDY’S LANE
10 O’CLOCK
STRUTHERS & CO., ENGR’S, N.Y.

The British force was then in much confusion, a part of it marching


into the American line by mistake, and suffering a destructive fire; a
part of it firing into the regiment on its own right, and keeping up the
fire persistently.[81] In order to recover their artillery they must
assault, without guns, a steep hill held by an enemy with several
field-pieces. Had Brown been able to put a reserve of only a few
hundred men into the field, his victory was assured; but the battle
and exhaustion were rapidly reducing his force. He had at ten o’clock
not more than fifteen hundred men in the ranks, and almost every
officer was wounded.
After a long interval the British line was reformed, and brought to
the attack. General Drummond’s report said nothing of this
movement, but according to the American account the two lines
were closely engaged their whole length at a distance of ten or
twelve yards. In the darkness the troops could aim only at the flash
of the muskets. “We having much the advantage of the ground, the
enemy generally fired over our heads,” said Captain McDonald of
Ripley’s staff; “but the continual blaze of light was such as to enable
us distinctly to see their buttons.” After a sharp combat of some
twenty minutes the enemy retreated. Three times, at intervals of half
an hour or more, the British line moved up the hill, and after the
exchange of a hot fire retired; between the attacks, for half an hour
at a time, all was darkness and silence, hardly interrupted by a
breath of air. Brown and Scott were with Porter on the extreme left.
In the centre, by the captured cannon, Ripley sat on his horse, ten or
twelve paces in rear of his line. Two bullets passed through his hat,
but he was unhurt. Captain Ritchie was killed at his battery on the
left; Jesup was wounded on the right. Each attack sorely diminished
the number of men in the ranks, until at the close of the third about
seven hundred rank-and-file, with few officers, were believed to
remain in position.[82]
Scott, with Leavenworth’s consolidated battalion, after ranging
somewhat wildly the entire length of the line in the attempt to turn the
enemy’s flank, and receiving the fire of both armies, joined Jesup’s
Twenty-fifth regiment on the right, and was at last severely wounded.
[83] At about the same time Brown was wounded on the extreme left,
[84] where Porter’s volunteers held the line. Major Leavenworth, with
the remnants of the first brigade, moving from the left to reinforce
Jesup on the right after the third repulse of the enemy, met Scott
retiring from the field, and soon afterward was hailed by General
Brown, who was also returning to camp severely wounded. The time
was then about eleven o’clock, and every one felt that the army must
soon retreat.[85] Farther in the rear General Brown met Major
Hindman of the artillery, who was bringing up his spare ammunition
wagons. Brown ordered Hindman to collect his artillery as well as he
could, and retire immediately; “we shall all march to camp.” He said
that they had done as much as they could do; that nearly all their
officers were killed or wounded; that he was himself wounded, and
he thought it best to retire to camp. Hindman on arriving at the hill,
firing having wholly ceased, immediately began to withdraw the
guns. Ripley first learned the order to withdraw by discovering the
artillery to be already gone.[86] Next came a peremptory order to
collect the wounded and retire.[87] The order was literally obeyed.
The enemy in no way molested the movement; and at about
midnight the wearied troops marched for camp, in as good order and
with as much regularity as they had marched to the battle-field.[88]
Hindman withdrew his own guns, and having with some difficulty
procured horses to haul off the British pieces, on returning to the hill
after Ripley’s withdrawal found the enemy again in possession, and
some men and wagons captured.[89] He left the field at once, with
the British in possession of their guns, and followed the retreating
column.
Lieutenant-General Drummond’s report of the battle, though silent
as to the repeated British repulses, declared that the Americans
fought with uncommon gallantry:—
“In so determined a manner were the attacks directed against our
guns that our artillery-men were bayoneted by the enemy in the act of
loading, and the muzzles of the enemy’s guns were advanced within a
few yards of ours. The darkness of the night during this extraordinary
conflict occasioned several uncommon incidents; our troops having for
a moment been pushed back, some of our guns remained for a few
minutes in the enemy’s hands.”
Drummond’s “few minutes” were three hours. According to the
British account, the One-Hundred-and-third regiment, with its two
field-pieces, arrived on the field just at nine, and “passed by mistake
into the centre of the American army now posted upon the hill.”[90]
The regiment “fell back in confusion” and lost its two field-pieces,
which were captured by Miller, with Riall’s five pieces. By British
report, Miller was at nine o’clock “in possession of the crest of the hill
and of seven pieces of captured artillery.”[91] Drummond admitted
that in retiring “about midnight” the Americans carried away one of
his light pieces, having limbered it up by mistake and leaving one of
their own. During the entire action after nine o’clock Drummond did
not fire a cannon, although, according to Canadian authority, the
fighting was desperate:—
“The officers of the army from Spain who have been engaged in
Upper Canada have acknowledged that they never saw such
determined charges as were made by the Americans in the late
actions.... In the action on the 25th July the Americans charged to the
very muzzles of our cannon, and actually bayoneted the artillery-men
who were at their guns. Their charges were not once or twice only, but
repeated and long, and the steadiness of British soldiers alone could
have withstood them.”[92]
CHAPTER III.
The battle of Lundy’s Lane lasted five hours, and Drummond
believed the American force to be five thousand men. In truth, at no
moment were two thousand American rank-and-file on the field.[93]
“The loss sustained by the enemy in this severe action,” reported
Drummond,[94] “cannot be estimated at less than fifteen hundred
men, including several hundred prisoners left in our hands.”
Drummond’s estimate of American losses, as of American numbers,
was double the reality. Brown reported a total loss, certainly severe
enough, of eight hundred and fifty-three men,—one hundred and
seventy-one killed, five hundred and seventy-two wounded, one
hundred and ten missing. Drummond reported a total loss of eight
hundred and seventy-eight men,—eighty-four killed, five hundred
and fifty-nine wounded, one hundred and ninety-three missing, and
forty-two prisoners. On both sides the battle was murderous. Brown
and Scott were both badly wounded, the latter so severely that he
could not resume his command during the war. Drummond and Riall
were also wounded. On both sides, but especially on the American,
the loss in officers was very great.
The effect of the British artillery on Scott’s brigade, while daylight
lasted, had been excessive, while at that period of the battle the
British could have suffered comparatively little. Among Scott’s
battalions the severest loss was that of Brady’s Twenty-second
regiment, from Pennsylvania,—at the opening of the campaign two
hundred and twenty-eight strong, officers and men. After Lundy’s
Lane the Twenty-second reported thirty-six killed, ninety wounded,
and seventeen missing. The Ninth, Leavenworth’s Massachusetts
regiment, which was returned as numbering three hundred and forty-
eight officers and men June 31, reported sixteen killed, ninety
wounded, and fifteen missing at Lundy’s Lane. The Eleventh,
McNeil’s Vermont battalion, which numbered three hundred and four
officers and men June 30, returned twenty-eight killed, one hundred
and two wounded, and three missing. The Twenty-fifth, Jesup’s
Connecticut corps, numbering three hundred and seventy officers
and men at the outset, reported twenty-eight killed, sixty-six
wounded, and fifteen missing. These four regiments, composing
Scott’s brigade, numbered thirteen hundred and eighty-eight officers
and men June 30, and lost in killed, wounded, and missing at
Lundy’s Lane five hundred and six men, after losing two hundred
and fifty-seven at Chippawa.
Ripley’s brigade suffered less; but although, after the British guns
were captured, the Americans were exposed only to musketry fire,
the brigades of Ripley and Porter reported a loss of two hundred and
fifty-eight men, killed, wounded, and missing. The three artillery
companies suffered a loss of forty-five men, including Captain
Ritchie. The total loss of eight hundred and fifty-three men was as
nearly as possible one third of the entire army, including the
unengaged pickets and other details.
When Ripley, following the artillery, arrived in camp toward one
o’clock in the morning,[95] Brown sent for him, and gave him an order
to return at day-break to the battle-field with all the force he could
collect, “and there to meet and beat the enemy if he again
appeared.”[96] The order was impossible to execute. The whole force
capable of fighting another battle did not exceed fifteen or sixteen
hundred effectives, almost without officers, and exhausted by the
night battle.[97] The order was given at one o’clock in the morning;
the army must employ the remainder of the night to reorganize its
battalions and replace its officers, and was expected to march at four
o’clock to regain a battle-field which Brown had felt himself unable to
maintain at midnight, although he then occupied it, and held all the
enemy’s artillery. The order was futile. Major Leavenworth of the
Ninth regiment, who though wounded commanded the first brigade
after the disability of Scott, Brady, Jesup, and McNeil, thought it “the
most consummate folly to attempt to regain possession of the field of
battle,” and declared that every officer he met thought like himself.
[98]

Yet Ripley at dawn began to collect the troops, and after the
inevitable delay caused by the disorganization, marched at nine
o’clock, with about fifteen hundred men, to reconnoitre the enemy. At
about the same time Drummond advanced a mile, and took position
in order of battle near the Falls, his artillery in the road, supported by
a column of infantry. A month earlier Drummond, like Riall, would
have attacked, and with a force greater by one half could hardly
have failed to destroy Ripley’s shattered regiments; but Chippawa
and Lundy’s Lane had already produced an effect on the British
army. Drummond believed that the Americans numbered five
thousand, and his own force in the ranks was about twenty-two
hundred men. He allowed Ripley to retire unmolested, and remained
at the Falls the whole day.
Ripley returned to camp at noon and made his report to Brown.
The question requiring immediate decision was whether to maintain
or abandon the line of the Chippawa River. Much could be said on
both sides, and only officers on the spot could decide with certainty
how the enemy could be placed under most disadvantage, and how
the army could be saved from needless dangers. Ripley, cautious by
nature, recommended a retreat to Fort Erie. With the assent, as he
supposed, of Brown and Porter,[99] Ripley immediately broke up the
camp at Chippawa, and began the march to Fort Erie, sixteen miles
in the rear. Although complaint was made of the retreat as confused,
hasty, and unnecessary, it was conducted with no more loss or
confusion than usual in such movements,[100] and its military
propriety was to be judged by its effects on the campaign.
The same evening, July 26, the army arrived at Fort Erie and
camped. Brown was taken from Chippawa across the river to
recover from his wound. Scott was also removed to safe quarters.
Ripley was left with the remains of the army camped on a plain,
outside the unfinished bastions of Fort Erie, where the destruction of
his entire force was inevitable in case of a reverse. Ripley favored a
withdrawal of the army to the American side; but Brown, from his
sick bed at Buffalo, rejected the idea of a retreat, and fortunately
Drummond’s reinforcements arrived slowly. The worst result of the
difference in opinion was to make Brown harsh toward Ripley, who—
although his record was singular in showing only patient, excellent,
and uniformly successful service—leaned toward caution, while
Brown and Scott thought chiefly of fighting. The combination
produced admirable results; but either officer alone might have
failed.

PLAN
of the Attack and Defence
of Fort Erie,
By Jn. Le Breton, Lt. Dy. Ag. Q. M. Gen’l.
Ms. British Archives.
STRUTHERS & CO., ENGR’S, N.Y.

Distrusting Ripley, and angry at losing the British cannon at


Lundy’s Lane as well as at the retreat from Chippawa, Brown wrote,
August 7, to the Secretary of War a report containing an improper
implication, which he afterward withdrew, that Ripley was wanting
either in courage or capacity.[101] He also summoned Brigadier-
General Gaines from Sackett’s Harbor to command the army.[102]
Gaines arrived, and as senior brigadier assumed command at Fort
Erie, August 4, while Ripley resumed command of his brigade.
During the week that elapsed before Gaines’s arrival, the army,
under Ripley’s orders, worked energetically to intrench itself in lines
behind Fort Erie; and after Gaines took command the same work
was continued without interruption or change of plan, under the
direction of Major McRee, Major Wood, and Lieutenant Douglass of
the Engineers.
The result was chiefly decided by Drummond’s errors. Had he
followed Ripley closely, and had he attacked instantly on overtaking
the retreating army at Fort Erie or elsewhere, he would have had the
chances in his favor. Had he crossed the river and moved against
Buffalo, he would have obliged Brown to order the instant evacuation
of Fort Erie, and would have recovered all the British positions
without the loss of a man. Drummond took neither course. He waited
two days at Chippawa before he moved up the river within two miles
of Fort Erie. About August 1 his reinforcements arrived,—
DeWatteville’s regiment from Kingston, and the Forty-first from Fort
George,—replacing his losses, and giving him three thousand one
hundred and fifty rank-and-file;[103] but he seemed still undecided
what course to adopt. The battles of Chippawa and Lundy’s Lane
had given the British army respect for American troops, and
Drummond hesitated to assault the unfinished works at Fort Erie,
although he was fully one half stronger in men than Gaines and
Ripley, who had barely two thousand rank-and-file after obtaining
such reinforcements as were at hand.

Strength of Scott’s Brigade, Fort Erie, July 31, 1814.

Present for Duty. Aggregate.


Non-com. Officers, Officers. Present and
rank-and-file. absent.
Ninth Regiment 139 8 569
Eleventh Regiment 293 11 624
Twenty-second Regiment 218 10 408
Twenty-fifth Regiment 255 7 676
General Staff 4 4
Total 905 40 2281

Strength of Ripley’s Brigade.


First Regiment 141 6 220
Twenty-first Regiment 441 20 849
Twenty-third Regiment 292 12 713
General Staff 4 4
Total 874 42 1786

Monthly return of troops under Major-General Brown, Fort Erie, July 31, 1814.
Bombardiers, etc. 58 2 69
Light Dragoons 47 1 64
Artillery Corps 241 12 364
First Brigade 905 40 2281
Second Brigade 874 42 1786
Total of Brown’s army 2125 97 4564
Drummond began operations by ordering a detachment of six
hundred men to cross the river and destroy the magazines at Black
Rock and Buffalo.[104] During the night of August 3 Colonel Tucker of
the Forty-first, with four hundred and sixty rank-and-file of his own
and other regiments,[105] landed two or three miles below Black
Rock, and advanced against it. They were met at the crossing of a
creek by two hundred and forty men of Morgan’s Rifles, then
garrisoning Black Rock, with some volunteers. The effect of the rifles
was so deadly that the British troops refused to face them, and
Tucker returned after losing twenty-five men. This repulse, as
creditable in its way to the American army as the battles at Chippawa
and Lundy’s Lane, caused much annoyance to Drummond, who
issued an order, August 5, expressing “the indignation excited by
discovering that the failure of an expedition, the success of which...
would have compelled the enemy’s forces to surrender or...
encounter certain defeat, was attributable to the misbehavior of the
troops employed.”[106] The only success achieved by British
detachments was the cutting out of two American schooners which
covered the approach to Fort Erie, near the shore.
Drummond having decided not to assault the lines of Fort Erie
until he had made an impression on the works, next sent for guns of
heavy calibre.[107] Ten days were passed in opening trenches and
constructing batteries. Gaines and Ripley employed the time in
completing their defences. Of these, the so-called Fort Erie was the
smallest part, and made only the salient angle toward Drummond’s
approaches. As the British had constructed the fort, it was a small,

You might also like