Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Transection and Synovial Fluid Lavage in a Rodent Model to Study Joint Inflammation and Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis
Published on: September 2, 2025
A treatment algorithm for primary patellar dislocations
Neel P Jain1, Najeeb Khan, Donald C Fithian
1Department of Orthopaedics, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, San Diego Knee and Sports Medicine Research Fellowship, San Diego, California.
Context:
Primary patellar dislocation continues to be a common problem facing clinicians today. These injuries are associated with significant morbidity and a substantial recurrence rate. Myriad operative and nonoperative options have been described to treat these injuries, although the evidence-based literature is sparse.
Evidence Acquisition:
PubMed was searched from 1970-2010 to identify publications on patellar dislocations, including clinical presentation, natural history, radiographic workup, and treatment.
Results:
The initial workup of a patella dislocation includes a history, physical examination, and radiographs. If there is evidence of a displaced osteochondral fragment or hemarthrosis, then magnetic resonance imaging should be obtained. The treatment of first-time patella dislocators has been controversial, and no study has demonstrated a clear benefit to early operative intervention.
Conclusion:
First-time patellar dislocations should be treated conservatively unless there is evidence of a displaced osteochondral fragment.
