Ganglia of the posterior cruciate ligament. A report of three cases and a review of the literature.

Two cases of isolated symptomatic ganglia and one case of a combined asymptomatic ganglion arising from the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) are reported. One patient was a 29-year-old male who complained of posteromedial radiating knee pain. The medial McMurray test was positive. A cystic mass, 1.5 cm in diameter, arising from the femoral insertion of the PCL was removed piece-by-piece. The second case involved a 29-year-old female who complained of medial knee pain and limitation of flexion. MR scans detected a soft mass around the PCL. This was found to be a ganglion cyst surrounding the PCL, measuring 30 mm by 25 mm; it was excised using a power shaver. The third patient was a 17-year-old male who had knee pain due to a large medial synovial plica. Two small cystic masses were present on the intermediate portion of the PCL, but they seemed to be asymptomatic because of their small size. Whether or not a ganglion produces symptoms is determined by its size and location. Intra-articular ganglia can be cured by piecemeal resection and do not recur.