The trochlear cleft: initial experience in elite athletes.

Objective: The trochlear cleft is a recently described vertically oriented, low-signal cartilage lesion centered in the trough of the trochlear cartilage. The purpose of our study was to determine the incidence of clefts in an at-risk group of athletes and correlate these findings with clinical and physical examination results.

Materials And Methods: Sixteen female collegiate volleyball players consented to bilateral knee evaluations, which consisted of history, physical examination, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.