• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.272-276
• /
• 2021

Most acute patella dislocations can be reduced closely using a spontaneous or simple maneuver, but it may not be possible if accompanied the by anomalies, such as rotation of the patella, osteophyte ridge protruding from the femur, or anatomical variations. This case report outlines irreducible acute patella dislocation with anatomical variations, a notched patella. If the reduction of an acute patella dislocation fails, an additional radiological examination and reduction under general anesthesia may be necessary with the possibility of an anatomical variant in mind.

• The Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Ultrasound Society
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.39-44
• /
• 2014

The patellar clunk syndrome is one of the patellofemoral complication, caused by formation of the fibrous nodule at the suprapatellar region after total knee arthroplasty. The symptom involves painful catching, crepitus and clunk during knee extension. It has been mainly but not exclusively associated with the posterior stabilized total knee system. The fibrous nodule is entrapped in the femoral intercondylar notch of the femoral component during flexion and as the knee is extended, it displaces back to the trochlear groove abruptly and the typical symptoms occur. The risk of developing this complication is primarily related to the design of the femoral component and higher incidence was noted with earlier designs of posterior stabilized knee prosthesis. Modifications have been made to the femoral component to optimize the kinematics of the patellofemoral joint and thereby reduced the incidence of patellar clunk syndrome but did not eliminate the problem completely. Clinical examination is the gold standard of diagnosis and imaging study has been used as a possible adjunct to diagnosis. Especially ultrasonography is an imaging modality, which can be easily performed to detect the fibrous nodule on the quadriceps tendon. We report a case of patellar clunk syndrome which was diagnosed with ultrasonography.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
• /
• v.56 no.2
• /
• pp.134-141
• /
• 2021

Purpose: Patellar dislocations have a range of causes. This study examined the results of treatment aimed at balancing soft tissues around the patella. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two patellar dislocations in 28 patients (21 females and seven males) were examined. The mean patient age at the time of surgery was 11.5 years, and the mean follow-up period was 4.6 years. Dislocations were 19 chronic, six habitual, six congenital, and one acute. Soft tissue balancing surgery included lateral capsular release, medial capsular plication, and inferolateral transfer of the vastus medialis obliquus. Medial transfer of the patellar tendon, partial strip of the rectus femoris and patella tendon, and distal femoral osteotomy were also performed selectively. The preoperative Q angle, femoral anteversion angle, tibial external rotation angle, tibial tubercle-trochlear groove distance (TT-TG distance), mechanical femoral-tibial angle, and femoral trochlear dysplasia according to Dejour were measured, and the pre- and postoperative Lysholm-Tegner scores were used to analyze the clinical results. Results: The mean preoperative Q angle, TT-TG distance, femoral anteversion angle, tibial external rotation angle, mechanical femoraltibia angle, and Lysholm-Tegner score were 9.3°, 15.5 mm, 25.6°, 30.4°, 3.0°, and 75.8, respectively. Eleven patients had systemic ligament laxity with a Beighton score of five or more. Twenty-two patients had femoral trochlear dysplasia: four type A (3 patients), 16 type B (15 patients), one type C (1 patient), and four type D (3 patients). Of the 32 cases, 28 were corrected successfully by the first operation. Of four cases of postoperative subluxation, three were corrected by the second operation, and one of them was corrected after a third operation. The last patient is currently being followed-up. The mean Lysholm-Tegner score improved to 85.6 after the operation. Conclusion: Correcting all the causes of patella dislocation simultaneously is difficult. Nevertheless, satisfactory outcomes were obtained with soft tissue balancing surgery around the patella and a corrective osteotomy for an abnormal mechanical axis of the femur-tibia and torsion.