Posterior cruciate ligament avulsion fracture

Last revised by Mohamed Saber on 13 Jan 2021

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Di Muzio B, Saber M, Murphy A, et al. Posterior cruciate ligament avulsion fracture. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 29 Nov 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-43789

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-43789

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/43789?iframe=true

rID:

43789

Article created:

25 Mar 2016, Bruno Di Muzio ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Bruno Di Muzio had no recorded disclosures.

View Bruno Di Muzio's current disclosures

Last revised:

13 Jan 2021, Mohamed Saber ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Mohamed Saber had no recorded disclosures.

View Mohamed Saber's current disclosures

Revisions:

16 times, by 13 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Musculoskeletal, Trauma

Tags:

refs

Synonyms:

PCL avulsion fracture

Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) avulsion fractures are a type of avulsion fracture of the knee that represent the most common isolated PCL lesion. This typically involves the separation of the posterior tibial insertion of the PCL to variable degrees.

These injuries are commonly seen in motorcycle or car accidents (dashboard injuries) in which posteriorization forces occur against the tibia in a flexed knee. They also are seen in individuals who jump and land on a plantarflexed foot whilst the knee is in flexion, often in the context of sport (essentially placing the tibia under posteriorization force) ³.

Avulsion at its tibial insertion is the most common PCL isolated lesion (~50%) ¹.

Classification

type I: non-displaced ²
type II: upward displacement of the posterior aspect of the avulsed tibial bone fragment ²
type III: totally displaced avulsed bone fragment ²

Radiographic features

It can be identified as a bone discontinuity at the posterior tibial articular surface (lateral radiograph view). On MRI or CT imaging, a fractured bone fragment can be noted attached to a retracted/redundant PCL ligament.