This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in JBJS
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Healy, W. L.
Right arrow Articles by Warren, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Healy, W. L.
Right arrow Articles by Warren, P.
Related Collections
Right arrow Surgical Techniques
Right arrow Adult Knee
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2004;86:193-200
© 2004 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.

Mesh Expansion Release of the Lateral Patellar Retinaculum During Total Knee Arthroplasty

William L. Healy, MD1, Richard Iorio, MD1 and Paul Warren, MD1

1 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, 41 Mall Road, Burlington, MA 01805

Investigation performed at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts

The original scientific article in which the surgical technique was presented was published in JBJS Vol. 85-A, pp. 1909-1913, October 2003

The authors did not receive grants or outside funding in support of their research or preparation of this manuscript. They did not receive payments or other benefits or a commitment or agreement to provide such benefits from a commercial entity. No commercial entity paid or directed, or agreed to pay or direct, any benefits to any research fund, foundation, educational institution, or other charitable or nonprofit organization with which the authors are affiliated or associated.

The line drawings in this article are the work of Joanne Haderer Müller of Haderer & Müller (biomedart{at}haderermuller.com).

BACKGROUND:

Release of the lateral patellar retinaculum can be used to treat patellofemoral instability and to balance the extensor mechanism during knee replacement operations. However, conventional lateral release disrupts the integrity of the lateral knee capsule, may damage the blood supply to the patella, and is associated with several other potential complications. Mesh expansion release of the lateral patellar retinaculum was developed to achieve the goal of lateral release and to reduce the potential for postoperative morbidity.

METHODS:

Thirteen consecutive knees in eleven patients were treated with mesh expansion lateral release during a total knee arthroplastyand were evaluated after a minimum duration of follow-up of two years. The mesh release technique consisted of multiple, longitudinal, parallel 5 to 10-mm stab incisions to mesh and expand the lateral patellar retinaculum and thereby medialize the patella in the trochlear groove of the femoral implant.

RESULTS:

Mesh expansion lateral release balanced the extensor mechanism in each knee, maintained the mechanical integrity of the lateral capsule, and avoided disruption of the lateral genicular blood supply to the patella. After a minimum duration of follow-up of two years, no complications had been noted in association with mesh expansion lateral release.

CONCLUSIONS:

Mesh expansion release of the lateral patellar retinaculum effectively balanced the patellofemoral joint during total knee arthroplasty, maintained the integrity of the lateral capsule, and preserved the lateral genicular blood supply.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Related articles in JBJS:

Mesh Expansion Release of the Lateral Patellar Retinaculum During Total Knee Arthroplasty
William L. Healy, Richard Iorio, and Paul Warren
JBJS 2003 85: 1909-1913. [Abstract] [Full Text]