Traumatic prepatellar neuralgia

Fourteen patients with painful knees caused by a direct blow to the front of the knee have been studied. The exact diagnosis was often delayed. Apart from pain, all patients had one common feature which they may not have been aware of, namely, marked tenderness localized towards the middle of the outer border of the patella. Surgical treatment in 11 patients, by excision of the subcutaneous tissue in the tender area and the prepatellar bursa, cured all cases. Histology of the excised specimens confirms the existence of a definite clinico-pathological entity.