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Lateral Release of the Lateral Patellar Retinaculum: Literature Review for Select Patellofemoral Disorders

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Book cover Patellofemoral Pain, Instability, and Arthritis

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Abstract

Although lateral release (LR) is a commonly performed surgical procedure, the indications for this type of treatment remain controversial.

The purpose of this review is to give a systematic classification of the diagnoses for which LR has been carried out. Additionally, an overview of the published studies will be presented showing which diagnosis is an indication for LR based on the short- and long-term clinical results.

In the literature, four diagnoses can be found, for which several retrospective studies on the outcome after LR surgery have been set up. These four diagnoses include: episodic patellar dislocation (EPD), patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PF OA), excessive lateral hyperpression syndrome (ELHS), and total knee replacement (TKR). In this review, only the first three will be discussed (Fig. 16.1).

Furthermore, it is of interest to classify LR as a performed as an isolated procedure or concomitantly with another proximal or a distal procedure, or a combination of these two.

LR in combination with a medial procedure (medial reefing, reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament, or reposition of the musculus vastus medialis obliquus) is indicated in EPD in select settings. LR in ELHS shows satisfactory long-term results. In patellofemoral OA, LR does not show good long-term results and is therefore not indicated in isolation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Peter C. Verdonk MD, PhD, Francis Bonte MD, Fredrik Almqvist MD, PhD & René Verdonk MD, PhD

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stedelijk Ziekenhuis Roeselare, Roeselare, Belgium

    Peter C. Verdonk MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Peter C. Verdonk MD, PhD
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  2. Francis Bonte MD
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  3. Fredrik Almqvist MD, PhD
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  4. René Verdonk MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Peter C. Verdonk MD, PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. "Centro di Ricerca ""Codivilla-Putti""", Lab. Biomeccanica, Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, Bologna, 40136, Italy

    Stefano Zaffagnini

  2. Clinique de la Sauvegante, COROLYON, Avenue Ben Gurion 8, Lyon, 69009, France

    David Dejour

  3. Dept. Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Riverside Ave. S. 2450, Minneapolis, 55454, USA

    Elizabeth A. Arendt

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Verdonk, P.C., Bonte, F., Almqvist, F., Verdonk, R. (2010). Lateral Release of the Lateral Patellar Retinaculum: Literature Review for Select Patellofemoral Disorders. In: Zaffagnini, S., Dejour, D., Arendt, E. (eds) Patellofemoral Pain, Instability, and Arthritis. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-05424-2_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-05424-2_16

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-05424-2

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