Posterior Knee Capsulotomy for the Relief of Patellofemoral Joint Pain: Long-Term Follow-up

J Knee Surg DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1693730Lack of full extension of the knee is a disabling condition that sometimes needs to be treated by a posterior capsulotomy of the knee. However, it is not clear if the full extension acquired can be kept throughout long-time follow-up. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 20 patients diagnosed with minimal flexion contracture of the knee who underwent open posterior capsulotomy between 1990 and 2010. All patients (100%) presented with a preoperative Lysholm's score classified as poor or fair (mean = 58.6 ± 13.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 52.3–64.9), but 14 patients (70%) experienced an improvement to good or excellent scores (mean = 87.6 ± 8.8, 95% CI: 83.6–91.6) after the follow-up. The mean preoperative angle of fixed flexion was 25.0 ± 9.1 degrees (95% CI: 20.8–29.2), and it decreased to 4.2 ± 4.1 degrees (95% CI: 2.3–6.1) after the follow-up. We conclude that posterior capsulotomy of the knee proved to be an effective procedure to treat properly patients with painful knees secondary to lack of full extension after 10.3 years of follow-up. [...] Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.Article in Thieme eJournals: Table of contents  |  Abstract  |  Full text

Source: Journal of Knee Surgery - August 6, 2019 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Leie, Murilo Anderson de Castro, Jacqueline Vieira Gomes, Jo ão Ellera Tags: Original Article Source Type: research