Clinical Case Study

History of Present Illness: Patty Martin, a 36 year-old woman, was skiing fantastic powder snow in Utah. As the morning progressed, she noticed progressive fatigue in her quadriceps muscles with each run down the slopes. Because the powder was so deep and fresh, she decided not to eat lunch and kept skiing. At about 3:00 P.M. she was "flying" down the slope when she ran into some moguls hidden underneath the powder. She fell backwards with a slight twisting motion. While falling she felt a popping sensation inside her left knee, followed by intense pain. She tried to stand up, but then felt faint. A ski patrol came by and took her down the mountain in a toboggan.

During the physical examination the ski patroller noticed that Patty's knee was markedly swollen. There was no ligamentous laxity noted as her lower leg was moved side-to-side. However there was a positive drawer test when in the sitting position on the examination table and bending her knees to ninety degrees, the ski patroller was able to pull Patty's lower left leg forward.

QUESTIONS
Answer the questions below to demonstrate your knowledge.
Answers are available in the Instructor Resources section of this site.

This activity contains 5 questions.

	How should the ski patroller treat the injury before Patty is driven down the mountain?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	What specific space is the fluid in?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Patty was driven down the mountain by a friend. Two days later she saw an orthopedic surgeon who scheduled a surgical procedure for one month later. Below are intraoperative photographs. On the left is the damaged structure. On the right is the new reconstructed structure. What is the probable diagnosis? What evidence supports your diagnosis?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	What is the name of the surgical procedure performed on Patty?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	What are some problems that may occur if the damaged structure is not repaired?   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

Copyright © 1995 - 2010 Pearson Education . All rights reserved. Pearson Benjamin Cummings is an imprint of Pearson . Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Permissions