Abstract
The too short proximal lateral trochlea represents a rare form of trochlear dysplasia in the coronal plane. The patella is insufficiently captured and guided at the entrance into the trochlea due to the missing lateral osteochondral opposing force. With quadriceps muscle contraction, the patella is pulled proximally, further reducing the contact zone. Patients with this pathologic articular morphology suffer from dynamic supero-lateral patellar instability. Physical examination and sagittal MR imaging measuring the lateral condyle index are helpful to depict this pathology. Index values of 86% or less confirm the presence of a too short lateral facet. In these cases, lengthening trochleoplasty represents a less invasive, tailor-made procedure to correct this specific pathomorphology compared with other more complex trochleoplasty techniques.
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Biedert, R.M. (2023). Lengthening Trochleoplasty. In: Sanchis-Alfonso, V. (eds) Anterior Knee Pain and Patellar Instability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09767-6_36
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