Association between fracture of the diaphysis of the femur and lesion of the ligaments of the knee.

The authors evaluated 97 knees out of a series of 135 fractures of the femur in 130 patients, revealing 34 cases of capsuloligamentous laxity, equal to 35% of the cases. No specific correlation between type of trauma, type and site of fracture, and lesion of the ligaments was observed. The frequency of unrecognized lesions, particularly in the posterior capsule, was made evident. The frequency of ligamentous lesions rises to 44.4% when fracture of the femur is associated with fracture of the homolateral tibia as compared to 26.7% in cases of isolated fracture of the femur. Recurvatum, which was present in a fair number of the cases, was related more to post-fracture therapy and rehabilitation rather than to specific capsuloligamentous lesion of the knee.