Translate an MRI report for me?
June 4, 2010 7:19 AM Subscribe
I have a knee injury and I'm on a budget. Here and here [pdfs] are the radiologist's 2-page MRI report. I'm not asking anyone to interpret it or offer advice, but a translation into layman's English would be helpful. Just a summary. Thank you.
...(although I believe I get the gist, which is that a detached [“avulsed”] and now 5mm-displaced piece of my tibia, no biggy to me, is healing with the ACL attached and not much else other than strains, inflammation, fluid, and swelling is going on).
...(although I believe I get the gist, which is that a detached [“avulsed”] and now 5mm-displaced piece of my tibia, no biggy to me, is healing with the ACL attached and not much else other than strains, inflammation, fluid, and swelling is going on).
Response by poster: Thanks! The doc doesn't seem to want to bother with surgery. It has been two weeks since the incident and I'm walking up and down stairs normally. What I don't get is how the bone pieces heal together when the ACL is pulling the fragment away from the tibia, but I guess that's the miracle of the human body.
posted by Shane at 7:38 AM on June 4, 2010
posted by Shane at 7:38 AM on June 4, 2010
Best answer: My attempt at a translation (IANYourPhysicalTherapist, IANARadiologist, I am just a person who frequently translates this stuff into language that isn't totally confusing. I'll do my best.) I've also included some questions that I would want to ask the doctor if this were my knee:
Findings:
The knee has two menisci, cartilaginous layers that protect the bone inside the joint.
-- the one on the inside of your knee looks fine. the one on the outside of your knee looks a little wonky, but they can't see anything torn, so that's good.
There are four main ligaments in your knee. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) keeps your tibia (the bone in your calf) from sliding forward on your femur (the bone in your thigh). The posterior cruciate ligament keeps it from sliding backward. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) keeps it from sliding to the outside, the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) keeps it from sliding inside.
-- your ACL has probably gotten a pretty strong stretch, and it looks like it's swollen. Where it attaches to your tibia, a chunk of bone has torn off. This chunk of bone has torn a bit away from where it's supposed to be. Your PCL looks fine. Your MCL looks fine. Your LCL has a little strain.
-- there is extensive swelling inside your knee that makes it look like there is a nondisplaced fracture there.
-- it looks like you might have a hemarthrosis, which is blood inside your joint.
-- your kneecap looks fine.
-- your major muscle tendons look fine.
-- your fibula looks fine.
Impression (what the radiologist thinks is going on):
1. When the ACL got pulled, it took a piece of bone with it. (This happens sometimes instead of the ACL tearing, because the ACL's attachment to the bone is very strong. If the bone attached to the ACL is displaced, this can behave a lot like an ACL tear, making your knee less stable than it otherwise would be.)
2. They think there's probably blood in your joint.
3. There's an area of your bone that's swollen, and I'm not sure if they think this indicates a fracture or not.
Note: in my experience, if the tibial spine is avulsed to a degree that makes this behave like an ACL tear, this is something that sometimes gets operated on.
Stuff to ask your doctor:
-- Is it ok for me to do activities that require pivoting/twisting/frequent changes in acceleration or direction like skiing, soccer, tag football, insert your favorite physical activity here?
-- Is my knee stable, or is this tear functionally the same thing as an ACL tear?
posted by jennyjenny at 9:20 PM on June 4, 2010
Findings:
The knee has two menisci, cartilaginous layers that protect the bone inside the joint.
-- the one on the inside of your knee looks fine. the one on the outside of your knee looks a little wonky, but they can't see anything torn, so that's good.
There are four main ligaments in your knee. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) keeps your tibia (the bone in your calf) from sliding forward on your femur (the bone in your thigh). The posterior cruciate ligament keeps it from sliding backward. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) keeps it from sliding to the outside, the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) keeps it from sliding inside.
-- your ACL has probably gotten a pretty strong stretch, and it looks like it's swollen. Where it attaches to your tibia, a chunk of bone has torn off. This chunk of bone has torn a bit away from where it's supposed to be. Your PCL looks fine. Your MCL looks fine. Your LCL has a little strain.
-- there is extensive swelling inside your knee that makes it look like there is a nondisplaced fracture there.
-- it looks like you might have a hemarthrosis, which is blood inside your joint.
-- your kneecap looks fine.
-- your major muscle tendons look fine.
-- your fibula looks fine.
Impression (what the radiologist thinks is going on):
1. When the ACL got pulled, it took a piece of bone with it. (This happens sometimes instead of the ACL tearing, because the ACL's attachment to the bone is very strong. If the bone attached to the ACL is displaced, this can behave a lot like an ACL tear, making your knee less stable than it otherwise would be.)
2. They think there's probably blood in your joint.
3. There's an area of your bone that's swollen, and I'm not sure if they think this indicates a fracture or not.
Note: in my experience, if the tibial spine is avulsed to a degree that makes this behave like an ACL tear, this is something that sometimes gets operated on.
Stuff to ask your doctor:
-- Is it ok for me to do activities that require pivoting/twisting/frequent changes in acceleration or direction like skiing, soccer, tag football, insert your favorite physical activity here?
-- Is my knee stable, or is this tear functionally the same thing as an ACL tear?
posted by jennyjenny at 9:20 PM on June 4, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks, jennyjenny. You gave me a clue to something I just realized yesterday: I actually have two fractures. One is the nondisplaced hairline fracture you mentioned, and the other is the small, avulsed bone chip still attached to a tiny bit of ACL. That's a good mystery solved for me.
posted by Shane at 9:40 AM on June 9, 2010
posted by Shane at 9:40 AM on June 9, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:25 AM on June 4, 2010