Outcomes of revision surgery with reconstruction for patellar tendon re-rupture: a case series study

Patellar tendon ruptures are infrequent but disabling injuries. Surgical treatment is the gold standard to obtain good outcomes. Failure of primary repair is a catastrophic complication. The literature regarding patellar tendon re-ruptures is very limited. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the outcomes of a series of patients who underwent revision surgery for re-rupture of the primary patellar tendon repair.

All patients with patellar tendon re-rupture surgically intervened in our center between 2019 and 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient characteristics, surgical technique, functional and radiological outcomes, and complications were recorded.

Five patients with patellar tendon re-rupture were included, all of whom were male. The mean follow-up period was 30 months. The average age was 54.4 years. Patellar tendon reconstruction was performed in four cases using allografts and in one case using an autograft. The average Lysholm and Kujala scores were 88.8 and 86.8, respectively, while the mean Insall-Salvati and Caton-Deschamps indices were 1.07 at the end of the follow-up. No cases of re-rupture of the reconstructed patellar tendon were observed.

In this case series of patients with patellar tendon re-rupture, revision surgery with reconstruction using autograft or allograft is presented as a valid alternative, with good functional and radiological outcomes at medium-term follow-up.

Case Series Study (Level IV).