Correlation between magnetic resonance imaging and physical exam in assessment of injuries to posterolateral corner of the knee

OBJECTIVE Evaluate the correlation between magnetic resonance imaging, clinical examination and intraoperative identification of posterolateral corner injuries of the knee. METHODS We compared the findings of physical examination under anesthesia and intraoperative findings as the gold standard for the posterolateral corner injury with the reports of the MRIs of patients who underwent reconstruction of the posterolateral corner. Thus, we evaluated the use of MRI for the diagnosis of lesions. RESULTS We found a sensitivity of 100% in lesions of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), 86.96% in lesions of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), 57.58% in lesions of the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and 24.24 % in tendon injuries of the popliteal muscle (PMT). CONCLUSION Posterolateral corner injury is difficult to visualize and interpret; therefore, MRI imaging should not be used alone for diagnosis.