Congenital absence of anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments – A rare case report and review of literature

Abstract

A rare occurrence, congenital absence of the cruciate ligaments has a prevalence of 0.017/1000 live births. A literature review on the PubMed database revealed only a few case reports of both coexisting anterior cruciate ligament and posterior cruciate ligament congenital absence. Most cases were found to be associated with other congenital abnormalities, making isolated congenital absence of the cruciate ligaments exceptionally rare. Liu et al. reported a total of nine cases to date, with our case being the second youngest and having no other associated knee pathologies. Our report presents a 4-year-old girl with unilateral congenital absence of a cruciate ligament, diagnosed through magnetic resonance imaging. It is crucial to be aware of this rare abnormality for proper management and to minimize morbidity.