[Indications for the conservative treatment of patella fractures]

It is uncontested that most patellar fractures have to be treated by open reduction and internal fixation. Nevertheless, there are well-defined types of patellar fractures in which such a procedure is unnecessary, either because the fracture is stable or because the retropatellar surface is intact. In these fractures internal fixation would constitute overtreatment; conservative treatment yields good results in such cases.