NOTES - Surgical Procedures :
Patellar fracture (broken kneecap) repair - - Posted by lizl (lizl), 26 April 2003
Terms you might see:
From an eMedicine.com article by Christine Lamoureux, MD: "Treatment options for patellar fracture include nonsurgical and surgical options.
"Nonsurgical treatment is appropriate in the setting of nondisplaced vertical, peripheral, comminuted, and transverse fractures with a step-off of 2 mm or less. Results of long-term studies have shown that arthrosis increases with increasing levels of malalignment beyond 2 mm. Nonsurgical treatment consists of the use of immobilization cylinders or an above-the-knee cast with the knee in extension for 4-6 weeks.
"Surgical treatment is advised for displaced fractures. The definition of a displaced fragment is a step-off of more than 2 mm or a separation of more than 3 mm. The goal of surgical treatment is to preserve patellar function. Open reduction and internal fixation techniques are most useful for transverse fracture or minimally comminuted fracture. The popular modified tension-band technique consists of placing 2 Kirschner wires (2 mm each) across the fracture, as well as a looped 18-gauge wire over the Kirschner wires and the anterior patella."
Here's a link to the complete article by Dr. Christine Lamoureux (scroll all the way to the bottom of the page for some interesting x-rays):
Be sure to check out the Bone Breaks Around the Knee discussion section on this board.
Updated Sat Nov 7 2009
