Clinical Results of Isolated MCL Grade III Injury in Acute and Chronic Setting: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is frequently involved in injuries around the knee but is uncommonly treated surgically. There are various techniques to reconstruct the medial side of the knee, which have varying outcomes.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is to describe the clinical results of surgical management of acute and chronic isolated grade III MCL injury using various functional scores, such as IKDC, Lysholm, and VAS, and to ascertain complication rates associated with these interventions.

Methods: A systematic review was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, and two independent authors (L.F and A.M) conducted a comprehensive search across multiple databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus). They reviewed each article's title and abstract for studies available until April 2024. The search terms used were "((MCL) OR (Medial collateral ligament)) AND (injuries) AND (treatment)". The full texts of the studies were evaluated when eligibility could not be assessed from the title and abstract.

Results: The pooled proportion (percentage) of complications from the three studies reporting data on surgery for the MCL acute stage was 15.3% with 95% CI [6.1% to 24.6%]. No complications were reported in studies reporting surgery in the chronic stage. Marked resolution of pain was observed with the mean VAS Score for pain at the final follow-up after surgery for MCL injury in the acute stage was 0.4 with 95% CI [-0.04 to 0.84]. The mean IKDC score at the final follow-up in the three studies reporting data on surgery for the MCL in the acute stage was 79.39 with 95% CI [67.96 to 90.82], and in the chronic stage, was 85 with 95% CI [83.02 to 86.98]. The mean Lysholm Score at the final follow-up after surgery for MCL injury in the chronic stage was 83.04 with 95% CI [75.24 to 94.84], and in the acute stage was 95 with 95% CI [91.76 to 98.24].

Conclusion: This systematic review found that functional outcomes regarding IKDC and LYSHOLM scores were comparable for surgeries performed in acute and chronic MCL tears. There was a marginally increased risk of complication in surgeries performed for acute MCL tears. Compared to the acute phase, a marked resolution of pain was observed at the final follow-up after surgery for MCL injury.

Study design: Systematic review; level of evidence, 4..