The usefulness of the oblique coronal plane of three-dimensional isotropic T2-weighted fast spin-echo (VISTA) knee MRI in the evaluation of posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with allograft: Comparison with the oblique coronal plane of two-dimensional fast spin-echo T2-weighted sequences

Purpose: We compared two imaging techniques to assess whether 3D VISTA imaging could replace 2D FSE in diagnosing PCL reconstruction complications. Materials and methods: This retrospective study included 40 patients who underwent surgery of PCL reconstruction and follow-up knee MRI (3D VISTA and 2D FSE) for evaluation of PCL graft integrity. Each image was interpreted independently by two radiologists without knowledge of radiologic reports or clinical history. The diagnostic performance of the 2D FSE PCL view, 3D VISTA PCL view, orthogonal 2D FSE image, and combined sequences were evaluated in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for diagnosing complications of PCL graft. The reference diagnoses were made arthroscopically or clinically. Results: The sensitivities of the 3D VISTA PCL view were similar to those of the 2D PCL view. The sensitivities of the combination of the orthogonal view and the 3D VISTA PCL view were also similar to those of the combination of the orthogonal view and the 2D PCL view. The specificities and accuracies of each image exhibited similar results. There was no statistically significant difference in diagnostic performance between the 3D VISTA PCL view and the 2D PCL view (solitary or combined with the orthogonal view). Conclusions: The diagnostic performance of the PCL views on 3D VISTA images is comparable to that of 2D FSE images in the diagnosis of PCL graft complications.