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Isolated avulsion fracture at the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle

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Abstract

An isolated avulsion fracture involving the femoral origin of the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle without an associated muscular, meniscal, or ligamentous injury is extremely rare. We report a case of a 14-year-old male wrestler who presented with a radiographically occult avulsion fracture of the medial gastrocnemius tendon sustained during competition. To our knowledge, this is the first case to describe a mechanism of injury as well as to report a return to competition after non-operative management.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Joseph T. Patterson

  2. Department of Orthopædics and Rehabilitation, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Peter Jokl

  3. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Lee D. Katz

  4. Department of Radiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    David A. Lawrence

  5. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, PO Box 208057, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Edward Smitaman

Authors
  1. Joseph T. Patterson
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  2. Peter Jokl
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  3. Lee D. Katz
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  4. David A. Lawrence
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  5. Edward Smitaman
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Correspondence to Edward Smitaman.

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Patterson, J.T., Jokl, P., Katz, L.D. et al. Isolated avulsion fracture at the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle. Skeletal Radiol 43, 1491–1494 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-014-1915-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-014-1915-5

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