Anterolateral rotatory instability of the knee joint. An early analysis of the Ellison procedure.

Our experience with the Ellison procedure for the control of anterior subluxation of the lateral tibial plateau includes fifty-two knees in which we used this procedure either alone or in combination with other reconstructive procedures. The results directly attributable to the Ellison procedure itself after follow-ups of six months or more could be evaluated in fifteen patients who had only the Ellison procedure for anterolateral instability and in thirteen who had both this procedure and a pes anserinus transfer for combined anterolateral and anteromedial instability. Of the twenty-eight patients so evaluated, only sixteen (57 per cent) had good or excellent results. The pivot-shift phenomenon, present in all twenty-eight knees preoperatively, had been eliminated in only four at follow-up. A positive anterior drawer sign was present in all patients both before operation and at follow-up. The subjective and functional improvement did not correlate well with the clinical and roentgenographic findings. From this study it is our impression that the results of this operation are disappointing and that it should be used only as an adjunctive procedure in lateral reconstruction in young patients.