The Hauser procedure is a surgical procedure that used to be performed for recurrent dislocation of the patella. Page updated May 2024 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor)
This surgical procedure is no longer done because it turned out that many patients had nasty complications. The procedure is one of several distal realignment procedures for realigning the patella in its underlying groove.
Disturbance of the growth plate during the procedure may lead to eventual deformity of the limb when they become adult, such as knee recurvatum (where the knee is bent slightly backwards).
Long-term ongoing pain can also complicate the procedure in a relatively high percentage of patients.
Doing the procedure via a lateral approach avoids this nasty complication.
"...previous tibial tubercle osteotomy and advancement can have increased complication rates in the setting of [total knee arthroplasty]....The transfer of the patella tendon insertion to a new medial and posterior position places the tendon at risk for transection during a medial peripatellar TKA approach...."