AJSM Webinar Series - September 2021: Patellar Tendon Repair-Operative Treatment of Acute Patellar Tendon Ruptures

Operative Treatment of Acute Patellar Tendon Ruptures

Pdf Summary

Patellar tendon ruptures are serious injuries that require surgical intervention. The gold standard for repair is a transosseous technique where sutures are passed through bone tunnels in the patella and tied over a bony bridge proximally. However, recent studies have shown that suture anchor repair may be a viable alternative, with biomechanical studies demonstrating better outcomes in terms of gap formation and failure loads. <br /><br />This study aimed to compare the demographic data, clinical findings, surgical outcomes, and complications of anchor and transosseous repairs of acute patellar tendon ruptures. A total of 361 patients (374 knees) who underwent primary repair of a traumatic patellar tendon rupture within 45 days of injury were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 39.8 years, with 91.7% being male. <br /><br />Of the 374 knees, 321 underwent transosseous repair and 53 underwent anchor repair. The results showed a significant difference in rerupture rate between the two repair techniques, with 7.5% of the transosseous repairs experiencing rerupture compared to 0% in the anchor group. Logistic regression analysis showed that transosseous repair had 3.24 times the odds of reoperation compared to anchor repair, although this difference was not statistically significant. <br /><br />The infection rate was 1.6% for transosseous repair and 7.5% for anchor repair, but this difference was also not statistically significant. There was no difference in time to release from medical care between the two groups. <br /><br />In conclusion, this study suggests that anchor repair may be a better option for patellar tendon ruptures, with a lower rerupture rate compared to transosseous repair. However, further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and evaluate long-term outcomes.

Keywords

patellar tendon ruptures

surgical intervention

transosseous technique

suture anchor repair

biomechanical studies

gap formation

failure loads

demographic data

clinical findings

surgical outcomes