Etiology, Diagnosis and Treatment of Tendinous Knee Extensor Mechanism Injuries

Conclusion: Risk factors for patella and quadriceps tendon rupture include increasing age, repetitive micro-trauma, genetic predisposition, and systemic diseases, as well as certain medications. Diagnosis is based on history and clinical findings, but can be complemented by ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging. Accurate diagnosis at an early stage is of utmost importance since delay in surgical repair of over 3 weeks results in significantly poorer outcomes. Operative treatment of acute ruptures yields good clinical results with low complication rates. Use of longitudinal transpatellar drill holes is the operative method of choice in the majority of acute cases. In chronic ruptures, tendon augmentation with auto- or allograft should be considered. Postoperative treatment protocols in the literature range from early mobilization with full weight bearing to cast immobilization for up to 12 weeks. Respecting the biology of tendon healing, we advocate the use of a removable knee splint or orthotic with protected full weight bearing and limited passive mobilization for 6 weeks.
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Surgery - Category: Surgery Authors: Tags: Review Article Source Type: research