[Bilateral rupture of the patellar ligament in diabetes mellitus]

Bilateral ruptures of patellar tendon are a rare event and occur mainly in older patients suffering from systemic diseases like lupus erythematosus, chronic renal failure, rheumatoid arthritis or are taking longterm corticosteroids. Only few cases of spontaneous bilateral rupture of patellar tendon without underlying systemic disease are described in literature up to now. This report provides a patient with bilateral patellar tendon rupture, where in further check up and follow up only a mild diabetes mellitus treated by diet could be detected as systemic disease. In current opinion diabetes mellitus does not belong to the "typical" underlying systemic diseases for tendon ruptures. In literature research diabetes mellitus was only mentioned once together with a bilateral patellar tendon rupture.