Pes anserinus and iliotibial band transfer for anterior cruciate insufficiency

Twenty-one patients with chronic anterior cruciate ligament insufficiency were treated with a combined iliotibial band (Ellison) and pes anserinus (Slocum-Larson) transfer procedure. Preoperatively, the most prominent instabilities were drawer laxity in 16 patients and anteromedial rotation in 5 patients. After a median of 34 months of followup, 15 patients were absolutely satisfied with the result, 2 were fairly satisfied, and 4 were not satisfied at all, including 2 patients who had been reoperated. All of the patients with unsatifactory results had a pivot shift and a positive Slocum test. Intraarticular derangements had no influence on the results. At followup, 14 patients demonstrated an anteromedial rotatory instability, indicating that the lateral stabilization procedure acted better than the medial one. Only a few patients returned to their preinjury levels of sports activity. Compared with other extraarticular procedures in the literature, the results were quite similar. The operative procedures used in this study cannot be recommended in cases with combined instabilities of the knee.