Repair Techniques for Acute Rupture of the Patellar Tendon: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Sports Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Acute patellar tendon tears require surgical intervention for optimal knee extensor mechanism function.
• Timely surgical repair of patellar tendon ruptures generally leads to the best patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and evaluate treatment outcomes and complication rates.
• To compare suture anchor repair, transosseous repair, and end-to-end repair for acute patellar tendon ruptures.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review following PRISMA guidelines.
• Searches of Cochrane, PubMed, and Embase for studies from 1980-2024.
• Inclusion of studies on acute patellar tendon ruptures, excluding chronic tears or post-total knee arthroplasty cases.

Main Results:

• Twenty studies involving 1161 patients were analyzed.
• Transosseous repair showed high Lysholm scores (84-98.08).
• Suture anchor repair reported excellent flexion (>130°) with no complications.
• End-to-end repair also achieved >130° flexion, with wound infections as the main complication.
• Comparative studies showed significant functional improvements; common complications included rerupture, infection, and DVT.

Conclusions:

• Suture anchor, transosseous, and end-to-end repairs demonstrate high healing rates for acute patellar tendon ruptures.
• Most surgical techniques provide good functional results and a low risk of complications.
• Wound complications and infections are the most frequently reported adverse events across repair methods.