Failed medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction: Causes and surgical strategies

Figure 6 Very severe left anterior knee pain in a female patient of 30 years of age who had a medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction using partial thickness quadriceps tendon. Clinically, no patellofemoral tracking disorders were found. With the patient under general anesthesia, the patella could be dislocated laterally despite an intact MPFL. In this specific case, the instability is due to an inadequate graft length change pattern during knee flexion and extension. After an anatomic double bundle MPFL reconstruction, using a semitendinosus tendon graft, the lateral patellar instability as well as the pain were completely resolved. MPFL: Medial patellofemoral ligament.