Response to “Editorial Commentary: The Anterolateral Ligament: The Emperor's New Clothes?”

摘要

I read with interest and a certain amazement “Editorial Commentary: The Anterolateral Ligament: The Emperor's New Clothes?” by Dr. Andy Williams1Williams A. Editorial commentary: The anterolateral ligament: The emporer’s new clothes?.Arthroscopy. 2018; 34: 1015-1021Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (15) Google Scholar on our article2Monaco E. Fabbri M. Mazza D. et al.The effect of sequential tearing of the anterior cruciate and anterolateral ligament on anterior translation and the pivot-shift phenomenon: A cadaveric study using navigation.Arthroscopy. 2018; 34: 1009-1014Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar “The Effect of Sequential Tearing of the Anterior Cruciate and Anterolateral Ligament on Anterior Translation and the Pivot-Shift Phenomenon: A Cadaveric Study Using Navigation.” I wish to respond to some distinct and important elements of this commentary. First of all, let me explain that our interest in the role of the secondary restraints of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the pathogenesis of rotational instability of the knee dates back to the late 1970s, and my first article on this topic was published in 1982.3Perugia L. Puddu G. Mariani P.P. Ferretti A. [Chronic anteromedial and anterolateral instability of the knee in athletes. Results of treatment with peripheral surgery].Rev Chir Orthop Reparatrice Appar Mot. 1982; 68 ([in French]): 365-368PubMed Google Scholar Since that time, extra-articular tenodesis has been routinely performed following indications as recently published.4Ferretti A. Monaco E. Vadalà A. Rotatory instability of the knee after ACL tear and reconstruction.J Orthop Traumatol. 2014; 15: 75-79Crossref PubMed Scopus (27) Google Scholar, 5Ferretti A. Papandrea P. Conteduca F. Mariani P.P. Knee ligament injuries in volleyball players.Am J Sports Med. 1992; 20: 203-207Crossref PubMed Scopus (239) Google Scholar, 6Ferretti A. De Carli A. Conteduca F. Mariani P.P. Fontana M. The results of reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament with semitendinosus and gracilis tendons in chronic laxity of the knee.Ital J Orthop Traumatol. 1989; 15: 415-424PubMed Google Scholar, 7Ferretti A. Conteduca F. De Carli A. Fontana M. Mariani P.P. Results of reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament with the tendons of semitendinosus and gracilis in acute capsulo-ligamentous lesions of the knee.Ital J Orthop Traumatol. 1990; 16: 452-458PubMed Google Scholar In comparison, Dr. Williams, whose “long interest” in this subject is attested to by his 2011 article,8Dodds A.L. Gupte C.M. Neyret P. Williams A.M. Amis A.A. Extra-articular techniques in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A literature review.J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2011; 93: 1440-1448Crossref PubMed Scopus (99) Google Scholar can be considered the “new kid on the block.” Moreover, as a full professor of Orthopaedics at University of Rome La Sapienza and chairman of the Orthopaedic Unit at Sant’Andrea University Hospital in Rome, I do not accept any lectures about scientific “rigor” and “due diligence.” In actual fact, our biomechanical article recently published in Arthroscopy is only the last of a series of similar works from our group, the first one published in 2012,9Monaco E. Ferretti A. Labianca L. et al.Navigated knee kinematics after cutting of the ACL and its secondary restraint.Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2012; 20: 870-877Crossref PubMed Scopus (175) Google Scholar 1 year before the article by Claes et al.,10Claes S. Vereecke E. Maes M. Victor J. Verdonk P. Bellemans J. Anatomy of the anterolateral ligament of the knee.J Anat. 2013; 223: 321-328Crossref PubMed Scopus (618) Google Scholar in which the anterolateral ligament (ALL) was identified and described. Turning to the content of the commentary, Dr. Williams reports as an example of lack of scientific rigor our citation of the work by Parsons et al.11Parsons E.M. Gee A.O. Spiekerman C. Cavanagh P.R. The biomechanical function of th