Patellar Fracture

GRAPEVINE, Texas — Patients with a thin native patella who underwent patellar resurfacing during primary total knee arthroplasty had 98% survivorship free of patellar revision at median 10-year follow-up, according to a presenter.

Opinions on performing patella resurfacing during total knee arthroplasty differ worldwide, with registries showing about 90%, 72% and 3% of orthopedic surgeons resurface the patella in the United States, Australia and Sweden, respectively.

While the majority of surgeons in the United States routinely resurface patellae during every TKA, the data and modern understanding of TKA fail to support this practice.

Patellar fracture after total knee arthroplasty with a retained patella is uncommon and may provide better clinicoradiological results than total knee arthroplasty with a resurfaced patella, according to published results.

Closed reduction compared with open reduction may not be an inferior surgical treatment for patellar fractures as researchers found no significant differences seen between the treatments with regard to outcomes.