Management of comminuted patellar fracture with non-absorbable suture cerclage and Nitinol patellar concentrator

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a fixation technique for comminuted patellar fracture using non-absorbable suture cerclage and nickel-titanium patellar concentrator (Ni-Ti PC).

Twenty-nine consecutive patients with displaced comminuted patellar fractures accepted internal fixation procedure using Ni-Ti PC augmented with different types of non-absorbable suture cerclage. During follow-up, the clinical grading scales of Böstman, including range of movement, pain, work, atrophy, assistance in walking, effusion, giving way, and stair-climbing, were used to evaluate the clinical results. Complications including implant loosening, fragment displacement, bone nonunion, infection, breakage of the implants, painful hardware, and post-traumatic osteoarthritis were also assessed.

Patients were followed up for a mean period of 27 months. The bone union radiographically occurred approximately 2.5 months without implant loosening and fragment displacement. According to Böstman method, satisfactory results were obtained, and the mean score at final follow-up was 28 (range 20–30) points. Twenty-two patients with excellent results had mean score of 29.8 ± 0.5 (range 28–30) and seven patients with good results had mean score of 22.7 ± 3.14 (range 20–27). No postoperative complications, such as infection, dislocation, breakage of the implants, painful hardware, and post-traumatic osteoarthritis, were observed.

Ni-Ti PC fixation with non-absorbable suture cerclage is a feasible approach for comminuted patellar fractures. Firm fixation with this technique resulted in satisfactory outcomes without obvious complications.