Patella Stabilisation

When a patella dislocates from its groove in front of the femur with floating cartilage, or persistently recurs despite physical therapy, or with abnormal anatomy, stabilisation procedures are indicated.

All patella stabilisation procedures involve the reconstruction of the stabilising ligament, the MPFL. Mr O’Bryan uses a tendon from the same knee to reconstruct this delicate but important structure.

Cartilage injuries as a result of dislocation are generally repaired at the same time as this procedure.

Quite frequently, there are other abnormalities predisposing the patella to instability. These include a patella that is not engaging its groove due to being too high, or unusually twisted bones, or a bump instead of a groove. A simple MPFL reconstruction is likely to fail in the presence of these severe problems, and as such an osteotomy or trochleoplasty is sometimes combined to stabilise the patella permanently.