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Injury of a bipartite patella in a young upcoming sportsman

  • Trauma Surgery
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to report the clinical features of a young athletic patient with bipartite patella, and review the literature to discuss the entity of this rare anomaly. In the course of an athletics competition, a 12-year-old top sportsman felt an intense pain around his left knee-cap while taking off from a jumping-board and broke down the competition. X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging showed an isolated distal pole of the patella with just minor diastasis; however, the X-rays did not suggest a recent fracture but rather hint at an atypically injured bipartite patella. A conservative therapy of 5 weeks with brace followed including a ban on sport activities for 12 weeks. Ten weeks later, the radiographs revealed a complete consolidation. Six months after the injury, MRI only presented a generally inconspicuous horizontal sclerosed structure. A fracture or separation of the bipartite patella was retrospectively diagnosed.

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Notes

  1. US: 88.185 lb, UK: 3,464.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Praxis for Trauma and Hand Surgery, 1060, Vienna, Austria

    Roland L. Stocker

  2. Department of Paediatric and Orthopaedic Surgery, UKBB, 4058, Basel, Switzerland

    Lutz van Laer

  3. Cottagestr. 13, 1140, Vienna, Austria

    Roland L. Stocker

Authors
  1. Roland L. Stocker
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  2. Lutz van Laer
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Correspondence to Roland L. Stocker.

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Stocker, R.L., van Laer, L. Injury of a bipartite patella in a young upcoming sportsman. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 131, 75–78 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-010-1109-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-010-1109-0

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