Treating Inferior Pole Fracture of Patella with Hand Plating System: First Clinical Results

Inferior pole fractures of patella are notorious fractures where it is difficult to obtain rigid internal fixation by conventional methods. The objective of the study was to introduce the Hand Plating System (HPS), which was a novel surgical technique for inferior pole fractures of patella, and to report the radiological and clinical outcomes following the application of the surgical technique.

The study was designed as a retrospective cohort study. Between July 2017 and December 2018, 30 patients who were diagnosed with inferior pole fracture of the patella without additional orthopaedic injuries were enrolled in this case series. After X-ray and 3D-CT examinations, all patients underwent open reduction and internal fixation by HPS with or without supplementary cannulated screw and lag screw stabilization. The bony union time, final range of motion (ROM), Bostman score, visual analog scale (VAS), and complications were measured as the clinical outcomes under a minimum of 12 months of follow-up.

All of the operations went well with the mean operative time of 76.2 ± 15.3 min. Bony union achieved in all the cases at an average of 9.5 ± 1.4 weeks after surgery. There was no loss of reduction, fixative failure, or surgical implant removal during follow-up. The average range of motion 1 year postoperatively was 0°-123.3°. The mean Bostman Score at the last follow-up was 26.8 ± 2.1 with the satisfactory rate of 100%. The pain feeling during walking as measured by VAS averaged at 0.9 ± 1.3. No complications developed except for one case of poor incision healing, which healed eventually after surgical debridement.

HPS was demonstrated as a secure fixation and as a kind of tension band for inferior pole fractures of the patella. Satisfactory recovery of knee function and low complication rate, including no need for hardware removal, could be expected.