Neglected rupture of the patellar tendon

Neglected rupture of the patellar tendon is a rare but well recognised complication of knee trauma. We present the case of a 43-year-old man who sustained a complete rupture of the patellar tendon of his left knee following a fall. Clinical diagnosis was delayed by 2 months and was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging. Treatment began with skeletal patellar traction and was followed by late reconstruction of the patellar tendon and transfer of the gracilis and semitendonosus tendons supplemented by figure-of-eight tension band wiring. Received: 6 November 1997     

Neglected bilateral rupture of the patellar tendon: A case report

Simultaneous bilateral rupture of the patellar tendon (PT) is extremely rare and is generally associated to some chronic diseases. When the rupture becomes chronic, it is more difficult to repair that as it remained untreated.The diagnosis, which is clinical, is often delayed, guided by standard radiography and confirmed by ultrasound or MRI.The management of a bilateral neglected, chronic patellar tendon rupture must address some serious difficulties: the proximally retracted patella, the reconstruction of the patellar tendon, finally, the temporary protection of this repair.We report a case of neglected bilateral rupture of the patellar tendon in a chronic hemodialysis patient, treated with a plastic surgery of the ipsilateral quadriceps tendon.     

Neglected spontaneous bilateral rupture of the patellar tendon: a case report

A patient taking corticosteroids for rheumatoid arthritis experienced a spontaneous bilateral rupture of the patellar tendon. Initially neglected, the rupture was repaired surgically by tendinoplasty using the semitendinous tendon for the right knee and inversion of the quadriceps tendon for the left. Functional results were similar. On the right knee, the wire cerclage loosened leading to posterior sagittal displacement of the patella, pointing out the difficulties encountered when repairing neglected rupture of the patellar tendon. Due to the small number of cases and difficulties in assessing the techniques proposed, no large-scale series has been reported in the literature.     

Neglected patellar tendon rupture: a case of reconstruction without quadriceps lengthening

Neglected rupture of the patellar tendon is a rare, can be easily missed in a group of patients. We present a 24 year old, male patient who sustained right femoral diaphyseal and tibial plateau fractures and a patellar tendon rupture following a motor vehicle accident. The fractures were treated by open reduction internal fixation but the patellar tendon rupture was missed and the diagnosis was delayed by 7 months. Patella was migrated proximally. It was moved distally to the original location and neglected patellar tendon rupture treated successfully with modified Ecker technique. Neither preoperative traction nor additional intraoperative procedures were performed to relocate the patella to its anatomic position in the extended knee and good functional result was achieved with intensive rehabilitation.     

Acute patellar tendon rupture

Summary: The most common method used in the treatment of acute patellar tendon ruptures is primary end-to-end repair. The use of the Acufex ACL guide (Acufex Microsurgical, Mansfield, MA) provides efficient and accurate placement of transosseous drill holes in the patella and minimizes the risk, tourniquet time, and surgical time of acute patellar tendon repairs.     

Quadriceps and patellar tendon rupture

Ruptures of the patellar and/or quadriceps tendon are rare injuries that require immediate repair to re-establish knee extensor continuity and to allow early motion. We evaluated 36 consecutive patients with quadriceps or patellar tendon rupture between 1993 and 2000. There were 37 primary ruptures, 3 reruptures, 21 quadriceps and 19 patellar tendon ruptures. Follow up examination (>24 months postoperatively) included the patient's history, assessment of risk factors, clinical examination of both knees, isometric muscle strength measurements and three specific knee scores, Hospital for Special Surgery Score, Knee Society Score and Turba Score, and a short form SF-36. We evaluated 29 patients (26 men) with 33 ruptures (16 patellar tendon, 17 quadriceps tendon). Seven patients were lost to follow up. We found no difference between the range of motion and muscle strength when the injured leg was compared to the non-injured leg. Risk factors did not influence the four scores, patient satisfaction, pain, muscle strength or range of motion. Multiple injured patients had a significant reduction in muscle strength and circumference, however patient satisfaction did not differ to the non-multiple injured patient group.     

Bilateral simultaneous rupture of the patellar tendon

Summary A case of bilateral simultaneous rupture of the patellar tendon due to apicitis patellae is presented. Clinical picture, diagnosis, pathogenesis and treatment are discussed. In addition, the literature on the subject is reviewed.     

Bilateral metachronous rupture of the patellar tendon.

We present a case of a 37-year-old man who sustained a rupture of his left patellar tendon approximately 48 hours after rupturing his right patellar tendon. This temporal pattern illustrates two important aspects of patellar tendon injury-that rupture of the degenerated patellar tendon may occur without any prodromal warning and that it may elude detection even if the patient is examined by several physicians.     

Acute patellar tendon rupture: A new surgical technique

Summary: The most common method used in the treatment of acute patellar tendon ruptures is primary end-to-end repair. The use of the Acufex ACL guide (Acufex Microsurgical, Mansfield, MA) provides efficient and accurate placement of transosseous drill holes in the patella and minimizes the risk, tourniquet time, and surgical time of acute patellar tendon repairs.Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related surgery, Vol 16, No 8 (November-December), 2000: pp 869–870     

Neglected Achilles tendon rupture with central insertional plantaris tendon hypertrophy: two cases

A neglected Achilles tendon rupture is often characterized by muscle weakness and an overlengthened repair by scar tissue. Reconstructive surgery is usually performed taking into account the patient’s required level of function. Two surgical cases of neglected Achilles tendon rupture are presented in this article. In both instances it was expected that central fibrosis, possibly after neglected tendon rupture, would be found. However, after longitudinal opening of the tendons, a thickened plantaris tendon was evident at the insertion on the calcaneus in both cases. This hypertrophic tendon occupied most of the diameter of the Achilles tendon. Due to partial or complete rupture of the Achilles tendon, there was notable weakening and tendon transfer-augmentation was performed. A thickened plantaris tendon as a reaction to a neglected rupture of the Achilles tendon is a rare presentation. It can be detected preoperatively by MRI and subsequently preoperative planning can be optimized.     

An undescribed cause of patellar tendon rupture

We present a rare case of a myxoid-feature lipoma that arose in the patella fat pad and caused patellar tendon rupture.     

Repeat patellar tendon rupture in a child

In summary, we present the first published case of a patellar tendon midsubstance rupture in an otherwise healthy 9-year-old with repeat rupture at age 10.     

在全膝关节置换术中保留和切除髌下脂肪垫对髌腱长度的影响

目的 研究在初次全膝关节置换术中,保留和切除髌下脂肪垫对髌腱长度的影响.方法 将67例骨性关节炎患者(99膝),分为A、B两组.A组为保留髌下脂肪垫组(51膝),B组为切除髌下脂肪垫组(48膝).拍摄膝关节X-ray侧位片:患者仰卧位,半屈膝(＞30°),并确认髌腱为紧张状态.于膝关节侧位片上定位髌骨下极髌腱附丽点和胫骨结节上方凹陷,测量其两点直线长度,即为髌腱长度.测量术前及术后随访时髌腱的长度.结果 A组术前及术后随访时髌腱的长度差异无统计学意义,B组术前及术后随访时髌腱的长度差异有统计学意义(t检验,P=0.0083).结论 在全膝关节置换术中,切除髌下脂肪垫是引起髌腱短缩的重要因素之一,已成为全膝关节置换术后的潜在的、难以察觉的并发症.     

Complete excision of the infrapatellar fat pad is associated with patellar tendon shortening after primary total knee arthroplasty

Background

Patella baja is a potentially disabling and difficult-to-treat complication following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We investigated whether complete or partial excision of the fat pad has an effect on the length of the patellar tendon following TKA.

Methods

A retrospective review of patient radiographs was performed. One hundred and eleven consecutive patients who underwent primary TKA for osteoarthritis using the same components by two consultants were selected. Seventy-two patients underwent complete excision of the fat pad, whilst 39 had partial excision as per consultant practice. Patellar height was measured using the Caton–Deschamps Index (CDI) on immediate postoperative radiographs and at a minimum follow-up of 1 year.

Results

In the complete excision group, the mean CDI changed from 0.54 immediately postoperatively to 0.45 at a minimum follow-up of 1 year (p < 0.0001) indicating shortening of the patellar tendon, and eight patients reported anterior knee pain. The partial excision group’s mean CDI changed from 0.76 to 0.75 (p = 0.231). An analysis of variance showed that the effect of complete fat pad excision on patella tendon length was significant, F(1, 109) = 15.273, p < 0.001.

Conclusion

At a minimum follow-up of 1 year, the patellar tendon length shortened significantly in the group of patients with complete fat pad excision. With partial excision, there was no significant change in tendon length. Complete excision of the fat pad should therefore be avoided wherever possible in an attempt to avoid patella baja.

Level of evidence

II.

     

Chronic patellar tendon rupture: surgical reconstruction technique using 2 Achilles tendon allografts

Delayed reconstruction of chronic patellar tendon ruptures classically has yielded suboptimal results. Quadriceps contracture, distal patella mobilization, quadriceps lengthening (eg, V-Y lengthening), prolonged postoperative immobilization, residual quadriceps weakness, surgical macro failure, and loss of knee flexion are some of the complications associated with treatment for chronic patellar tendon rupture. Reinforcement hardware (eg, cerclage wire) may necessitate subsequent removal and the possibility of breaking with migration through the body. This article details the use and short-term success of a surgical technique using 2 Achilles tendon allografts for reconstruction of a chronic patellar tendon rupture.     

Repair of patellar tendon rupture using suture anchors

Acute isolated rupture of the patellar tendon traditionally has been repaired via transpatellar suture tunnels. This retrospective study evaluated the demographics and epidemiology of this injury as well as the effectiveness and complication rates of our suture anchor technique. Between 1993 and 2005, a total of 82 cases of patellar tendon disruption in 71 patients were repaired. Fourteen cases involved basic primary repair with suture anchors of an acute isolated rupture of the patellar tendon and had an average follow-up of 29 months (range: 3-112 months). There were 3 (21%) failures of repair. The remaining 11 patients had excellent range of motion and strength and returned to their preoperative level of function. These results are comparable with other reports in the literature. The suture anchor technique thus represents a viable option for repair of patellar tendon ruptures and should be investigated further with a randomized, controlled trial.