Plating of comminuted patellar fractures safe and viable treatment strategy

• Eight (9.41%) of the patients required reoperation.

• Of the 72 patients with complete follow-up of >=12 weeks, 3 (4.17%) had nonunion of the fracture site and 4 (5.56%) had loss of reduction of the fracture.

• The average Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score among the sample was 18.84 (slight symptoms);

• 72.41% of the patients in the sample had slight or no symptoms at >=12 months postoperatively.

The authors concluded that – “Our results indicated that plating of comminuted patellar fractures is a safe, viable treatment strategy. The PROs at >=12 months of follow-up data were promising. Additionally, dorsal plating may allow for early return of function and less postoperative bracing.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. 

Key Words: JBJS Open Access, Jake X. Checketts, Reoperation, Patellar Fracture, Plate fixation

Further reading:

Reoperation and Complication Rates Following Patellar Fracture Repair with Plates, A Retrospective Analysis with Patient-Reported Outcomes at More than 1 Year of Follow-up, Jake X. Checketts, Jared Scott et al, JBJS Open Access 2022:e22.00012., http://dx.doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.OA.22.00012