Role of sagittal - oblique technique of MRI in diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament injuries

Background Sagittal-oblique technique clearly shows partial rupture because its’ double angulation follows the specific course of the patient’s ligament, due to approximate orientation of the external rotation of the foot. Sagittal-oblique technique provides a higher number of slices presenting the whole course of ACL Objective To value the role of sagittal- oblique technique of MRI adding to the standardized MRI technique in the diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Patients and Methods The study was approved by the hospital ethical committee and all patients agreed to participate in the study. We prospectively evaluated 20 patients with MRI examination of the knee. Patients presented with painful knee joint due to trauma of knee soft tissue structures. They were 9 females and 11 males, ranging in age from 26 to 67 years. Mean age is 39.80 years. Results Accuracy of standard MRI protocol of the knee comparing to additional technique is identical in detection of a complete ACL rupture. Presentations of the partial ruptures of ACL using sagittal-oblique technique were more sensitive than presentation using standard MR protocol. There was statistically significant difference between MRI detection of the ruptured ACL between additional techniques. Sagittal-oblique technique provides a higher number of MRI slices showing the whole course of the ACL and requires a shorter scan time. Conclusion The addition of oblique sagittal technique to the standard MRI imaging improved diagnostic accuracy for detecting partial tear of the ACL. However, oblique sagittal technique is just as precise as the standard MR technique for the evaluation of a complete rupture of the ACL, so it should be used in cases of suspicion of partial rupture of the ACL