Ramp Lesions in Chronic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

Meniscus ramp lesions associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are being increasingly reported in the literature. This study was carried out to know the incidence of ramp lesions in ACL injured patients and to study the characteristics of these patients in our population.

Seventy-five patients who underwent ACL reconstruction from January 2021 to December 2021 were prospectively studied. Patients with multi-ligament injuries or a history of previous knee surgery were excluded. All patients were examined clinically and all underwent MRI examinations. The findings of arthroscopy during ACL reconstruction were recorded and analyzed.

Seventeen patients had ramp lesions with an incidence of 22.67%. Eight were isolated ramp lesions, and nine had other meniscus injuries. Ramp lesions were identified with 41.18% sensitivity using preoperative MRI. Thirteen out of 17 patients with ramp lesions had increased mobility of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus on anterior probing. The duration from injury to surgery was significantly longer in patients with ramp lesions as compared to patients without ramp lesions.

A ramp lesion is not an uncommon lesion in ACL injuries and can occur either as an isolated meniscus lesion or in association with other meniscus lesions.Ramp lesions can occur in road traffic accidents as well and are not just sports-related injuries. Ramp lesions are not visible through routine anterior portal diagnostic arthroscopy and their repair adds to the stability of the knee. The absence of ramp lesions on MRI does not rule out their presence; hence, one should always look for ramp lesions in the posteromedial compartment of the knee in all cases undergoing ACL reconstruction.