S. Xu, C. Zhang, Changhai Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China; X. W. Liu, Second Military Medical University,, China, Shanghai, China; Q. Fu, Changhai Hospital,Shanghai, Shanghai, China
Abstract
Comminuted and displaced fractures of the inferior pole of the patella are not easy to reduce and it is difficult to fix the fragments soundly enough to allow early movement of the knee. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the internal fixation technique with Patellar Shape-Memory Fixator (PSMF) in acute comminuted fractures of the inferior pole of the patella. We retrospectively studied 25 patients with comminuted fractures of the inferior pole of the patella who were treated with PSMF and followed up for a mean period of 26 months (14 to 60 months).All the fractures healed at a mean of six weeks (5 to 7). No breakage of the PSMF or infection occurred. The mean grading at the final follow-up was 29.5 points (27 to 30) using the Bostman score.This technique preserved the length of the patella, reduced the comminuted fragments of the inferior pole and avoided long-term immobilization of the knee.Key words: Shape memory alloy; patella; fracture; open reduction and internal fixation
Summary: This article is not published and can be accepted by SMST 2010. All the authors confirmed that.
