Arthroscopic repair of the medial retinaculum after first time dislocation of the patella

Between March 1994 and December 1997, an arthroscopic repair of the medial retinaculum after first time dislocation of the patella was performed 38 times in 34 patients. The operative technique is being described as well as the results after an average follow-up of 25 months in 31 cases. In the group with radiologically determined predisposing factors (n = 20) as many osteochondral flakes were found as in the group without these factors, but there were significantly less chondral lesions on the lateral femoral condyle and the medial patellar facet. There were no complications during hospitalization, although in 3 (10 %) cases a redislocation occurred during follow-up. According to the subjective Turba Score, 84 % of the patients showed a good or very good, and 16 % a fair result, including cases with redislocation. The arthroscopic repair of the medial retinaculum after first time patellar dislocation is a minimal invasive method with very low peri- and postoperative morbidity. The redislocation rate can be reduced to at least 50 % compared to the published data on conservative treatment.