CASE REPORT
Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction Using the Hamstring Tendon for Patellofemoral Joint Instability in an 81-Year-Old Female
Tsuneari Takahashi*, Katsushi Takeshita
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2017Volume: 11
First Page: 1028
Last Page: 1034
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-11-1028
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001711011028
Article History:
Received Date: 13/07/2017Revision Received Date: 19/07/2017
Acceptance Date: 06/08/2017
Electronic publication date: 29/08/2017
Collection year: 2017`
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Introduction:
Chronic patellofemoral instability occurs mainly in adolescent females and can also be induced by medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) injury. There are no case reports of MPFL reconstruction for chronic patellofemoral instability due to MPFL injury in aged populations.
Case Presentation:
81-year-old female presented with left knee pain, giving way, and patellar instability while climbing stairs, which continued for 18 months. Patellar apprehension test was positive, and roentgenogram showed lateral patellar subluxation. Conservative therapy was not successful; hence, we performed a lateral release and MPFL reconstruction surgery.
Operative Procedure:
After arthroscopic lateral release, the hamstring tendon was harvested, and a graft composite made of doubled hamstring tendon and polyester tape with a suspensory fixation device was prepared. Then, a femoral bone tunnel was constructed in a socket shape at the anatomical footprint of the MPFL. The graft was passed through the femoral tunnel, and free ends of the graft composite were sutured to the periosteum of the patella, using two suture anchors at 60° of knee flexion with patellar reduction. Physiotherapy was gradually started using a patella-stabilizing orthosis on the first postoperative day. Her Kujala score improved from 66 to 97 points, and Barthel index score improved from 70 to 100 points at 1 year after surgery. She neither developed patellofemoral joint OA nor had any recurrence of symptoms at the 5-year postoperative follow up.
Conclusion
MPFL reconstruction using the hamstring tendon is an effective procedure for patients with chronic patellofemoral instability even after the age of 80 years.
