Surgical treatment of posterior cruciate ligament insufficiency in the United States.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the latest trends and demographics of surgical treatment of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) insufficiency in the United States. Patients who underwent surgical treatment of PCL insufficiency from 2007 to 2011 were identified by searching the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes and Current Procedural Terminology codes in the PearlDiver Patient Records Database (PearlDiver Technologies, Warsaw, Indiana), a publicly available national database of insurance records. The chronicity of injury, year of procedure, age, sex, region of the United States the surgery was performed, and other concomitant meniscus and ligamentous operations were elicited for each patient. In total, 701 cases of surgical PCL procedures (222 isolated and 479 combined) were identified. More PCL surgeries were completed for acute injuries (74%) than for chronic injuries (26%). Among associated procedures, meniscectomies and meniscus repairs were performed for 293 (41%) and 51 (7%) patients, respectively. Meniscectomies were completed in 77 (35%) isolated reconstructions vs 216 (45%) combined reconstructions (P=.01; odds ratio, 0.65). Of the combined PCL surgeries, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)/PCL was the most common (62%), followed by ACL/PCL/collateral ligament repair (11%) and PCL/other ligamentous reconstruction (9%). No specific trends were observed in the yearly number of PCL procedures performed. The peak number of isolated PCL surgeries was observed in a younger age group (20-29 years) than that of combined PCL surgeries (30-39 years) (P<.01). Surgical treatment for PCL insufficiency remains reserved for acute multiligamentous knee injuries, with ACL/PCL operations being the most common combined procedure.