Experimental rupture of the medial collateral ligament of the knee.

Severe injuries to the ligaments of the knee joint have recently begun to attract attention as a promising field for early reparative surgery. Palmer (1938) rationalised the diagnosis of these injuries and described the technique of surgical repair. Since then several further contributions, mostly from abroad, have supported early operation. In Britain, to judge from the literature, most surgeons prefer conservative treatment in the form of prolonged immobilisation. Whichever method is advocated, healing seems to be taken for granted, despite the scantiness of our knowledge both of the precise effect of injury on ligamentous tissue and of its reparative power. This paper describes an investigation which has been undertaken to determine firstly, the anatomical result of rupture of a ligament, and secondly, the response in the ligament to repair the damage. From this information it was hoped to obtain evidence for or against early operative repair.