Editorial Commentary: The Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Is Not Isometric and Anatomic Reconstruction Is Important, But Just a Small Piece of the Patellar Instability Puzzle

A Simple Technique for Reconstruction of the Medial Patellofemoral Ligament With Patellar Soft-Tissue Fixation Using Synthetic Suture Tape Internal Bracing

Recurrent patellar dislocation is most commonly treated with an isolated medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction using autograft tissue. Harvest and fixation of these grafts have some theoretical disadvantages. With this Technical Note, we aim to describe a simple reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament using high-strength suture tape with a soft-tissue fixation on the patellar side and an interference screw fixation on the femoral side, avoiding some of these possible disadvantages.

Combined Reconstruction of the Medial Patellofemoral Ligament and Medial Quadriceps Tendon Femoral Ligament in Skeletally Immature Patients

The medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction is challenging in skeletally immature patients due to the anatomical particularities at this age. Recently, the medial quadriceps tendon femoral ligament (MQTFL) has received great interest for its ability to restrain the patella's instability along with MPFL. No gold-standard technique has been described so far to reconstruct both MPFL and MQTFL in skeletally immature patients. We present a technique to safely reconstruct the MPFL and the MQTFL in children and adolescents. The gracilis tendon autograft is harvested and passed through the medial collateral ligament as a pulley. The free ends of the graft are passed through the patella by an "L-shaped tunnel" and tied to itself. The other free end of the graft is pulled through the medial third of the quadriceps tendon and tied to itself to achieve tension. Our technique is reproducible, implant-free and avoids complications associated with femoral drilling and graft fixation. However no long-term follow-up results are available.