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. 2023 Sep 22;28(1):366.
doi: 10.1186/s40001-023-01359-1.

High return to sports rates after operative treatment of patella fractures

Sebastian Pesch  1   2 , Frederik Greve  1 , Michael Zyskowski  1 , Michael Müller  1 , Moritz Crönlein  1 , Peter Biberthaler  1 , Chlodwig Kirchhoff  1 , Markus Wurm  3
Affiliations

High return to sports rates after operative treatment of patella fractures

Sebastian Pesch et al. Eur J Med Res. .

Abstract

Background: Patella fractures are relatively rare fractures and only little is known about the postoperative return to sports after patella fractures.

Methods: This retrospective study presents information on functional outcome after operative treatment of patella fractures as well as time until return to sports and patients' complaints after open-reduction internal-fixation (ORIF) of patella fractures.

Results: Overall, 39 patients after ORIF of patella fractures were evaluated at our Level-I trauma center with a mean follow-up of 42 months. The mean time until return to sports was 7 ± 3.9 months. No significant difference was found for functional outcome with respect to body mass index (BMI) or age. Fracture consolidation was accomplished after a mean of 6.9 ± 2.9 months besides a relatively low complication rate of 5.1% (n = 2).

Conclusion: The results demonstrate a high return to sports rate of 90.3%. However, only 51.6% were able to perform sports on their pre-injury level or above. Trial Registration The study was retrospectively registered at DRKS (No: DRKS00031146).

Keywords: Fracture; Functional outcome; ORIF; Patella; Return to sports.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a/p (a) and lateral (b) X-ray of a simple transverse patella fracture after operative treatment using screw fixation
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a/p (c) and lateral (d) X-ray of a transverse patella fracture after operative treatment using tension-band wiring
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a/p (a) and lateral (b) X-ray of a multifragmentary patella fracture after operative treatment using a locking plate
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Box plot of functional outcomes (MKQ) based on the fracture type (AO classification)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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