Chronic patellar tendon rupture reconstruction with a semitendinosus autograft

Chronic patellar tendon ruptures are somewhat rare, thus little work has been done in this area and their true incidence is not known. The management of a neglected, chronic patellar tendon rupture must address three difficulties: the proximally retracted patella, the reconstruction of the patellar tendon, finally, the temporary protection of this repair. By presenting a case of a chronic patellar tendon rupture, the advantages of reconstruction with an isolated semitendinosus tendon autograft, especially from an early rehabilitation perspective, are described.