Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Knee Arthrocentesis in Adults
Published on: February 25, 2022
Recurrent lateral patella dislocation affects knee function as much as ACL deficiency - however patients wait five
Truls Martin Straume-Næsheim1,2, Per-Henrik Randsborg3, Jan Rune Mikaelsen3
1The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Akershus University Hospital, 1478, Lørenskog, Norway. trul@ahus.no.
Background:
Surgical treatment of young patients with recurrent lateral patella dislocation (RLDP) is often recommended because of loss of knee function that compromises their level of activity or even their daily life functioning. This situation is comparable to young patients with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the time from injury to surgery and the pre-operative symptoms and knee function of young RLPD patients scheduled for stabilizing surgery and compare this group to age and sex-matched ACL-deficient patients.
Method:
Forty-seven patients with unilateral RLPD listed for isolated medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction were included in the study (RLPD-group). This group was compared to an age, sex and BMI matched ACL patient group obtained from the Norwegian knee ligament registry (ACL-group) for the following outcome measures: the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS) assessed on the day of surgery and time from injury to surgery.
Results:
The RLPD-group scored significantly lower than the ACL-group for the three KOOS subscales "Pain" (73.6 vs. 79.8, p < 0.05), "Symptoms" (71.7 vs. 79.3, p < 0.05) and "ADL" (84.7 vs 89.5, p < 0.05). The lowest KOOS values were found for Sports/Recreation (53.5 vs. 51.3, p = 0.65) and Quality of life (37.6 vs. 36.7, p = 0.81). The average time from primary injury to surgery was 6 months for the ACL group and 31 months for the RLPD group.
Conclusion:
RLPD affected knee function as much as ACL deficiency, and was associated with more pain. Still the RLDP patients waited on average 5 times longer for surgery.
Trial Registration:
The patients with RLPD consisted of patients who were examined for possible recruitment for a concurrent prospective randomized controlled trial comparing conservative treatment and isolated surgical medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction (Clinical trials no: NCT02263807 , October 2014).
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Bones of the Lower Limb: Femur and Patella
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation II: ACLS Airway Management
Knee Joint
A total of seven ligaments support the knee joint. The patellar ligament, which is also attached to the quadriceps femoris...
Lateralization
Cranial Bones: Lateral View
The temporal bone forms the lower lateral side of the skull. The temporal bone is subdivided into several regions. The flattened upper portion is the squamous portion of the temporal bone. Below this area and projecting anteriorly is the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, which forms the posterior portion of the zygomatic arch. Posteriorly is the mastoid portion of the temporal bone. Projecting...
Functional Groups

