J Korean Fract Soc.  2012 Oct;25(4):283-287. 10.12671/jkfs.2012.25.4.283.

Alteration of the Patella Tendon Length after Intramedullary Nail in Tibial Shaft Fractures

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Bundang CHA Hospital, CHA University, Seongnam, Korea. allthatineed@naver.com
  • 2Nanoori Gangseo Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
To compare and analyze length change of patella tendon after intramedullary nailing of tibial shaft fracture using transtendinous approach.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-two cases were analyzed from December, 1999 to December, 2005. Insall Salvati ratios were estimated. Severity of initial trauma, duration of nail retension, knee function and pain on change of length of patellar tendon was evaluated.
RESULTS
Mean duration of nail retention was twenty-two months. The shortening of patella tendon was observed in 25 cases (p<0.001). The effect of AO type and the duration of nail retension on the decrease of Insall Salvati ratio was not significant (p>0.05, p=0.778). Lysholom score decrease to 89.5. There was no significant difference between the shortening of patellar tendon length and knee pain (p=0.058).
CONCLUSION
After intramedullary nailing for closed tibia fracture, shortening of patellar tendon length is observed. That is irrelevant to the fracture type and the duration of nail retension. The shortening of patella tendon length may contribute to decreasing of knee function, but it was no significance of knee pain after intramedullary nailing.

Keyword

Tibial fractures; Intramedullary fracture fixation; Patellar tendon

MeSH Terms

Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary
Knee
Nails
Patella
Patellar Ligament
Retention (Psychology)
Tibia
Tibial Fractures

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Insall-Salvati ratio of intact knee joint compared to knee joint of the injured side after removal of the nail. LT: Length of patella tendon, LP: Length of patella.


Reference

1. Adam F, Pape D, Kohn D, Seil R. Length of the patellar tendon after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with patellar tendon autograft: a prospective clinical study using Roentgen stereometric analysis. Arthroscopy. 2002. 18:859–864.
Article
2. Court-Brown CM, Christie J, McQueen MM. Closed intramedullary tibial nailing. Its use in closed and type I open fractures. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1990. 72:605–611.
Article
3. Court-Brown CM, Gustilo T, Shaw AD. Knee pain after intramedullary tibial nailing: its incidence, etiology, and outcome. J Orthop Trauma. 1997. 11:103–105.
Article
4. Devitt AT, Coughlan KA, Ward T, et al. Patellofemoral contact forces and pressures during intramedullary tibial nailing. Int Orthop. 1998. 22:92–96.
Article
5. Karladani AH, Granhed H, Kärrholm J, Styf J. The influence of fracture etiology and type on fracture healing: a review of 104 consecutive tibial shaft fractures. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2001. 121:325–328.
Article
6. Katsoulis E, Court-Brown C, Giannoudis PV. Incidence and aetiology of anterior knee pain after intramedullary nailing of the femur and tibia. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2006. 88:576–580.
Article
7. Keating JF, Orfaly R, O'Brien PJ. Knee pain after tibial nailing. J Orthop Trauma. 1997. 11:10–13.
Article
8. Kim DW, Roh KJ, Yoo WK, Chung IH. The morphometric study on cruciate and patellar ligaments in Korean Adults. J Korean Orthop Assoc. 1995. 30:1210–1215.
9. Lee KW, Kang JW, Lee SH, Kim HY, Choy WS. Knee pain analysis after tibia intramedullary nailing. J Korean Soc Fract. 2001. 14:278–284.
10. Lin CF, Wu JJ, Chen TS, Huang TF. Comparison of the Insall-Salvati ratio of the patella in patients with and without an ACL tear. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2005. 13:8–11.
11. Sanders R, Jersinovich I, Anglen J, DiPasquale T, Herscovici D Jr. The treatment of open tibial shaft fractures using an interlocked intramedullary nail without reaming. J Orthop Trauma. 1994. 8:504–510.
12. Scuderi GR, Windsor RE, Insall JN. Observations on patellar height after proximal tibial osteotomy. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1989. 71:245–248.
Article
13. Shelbourne KD, Trumper RV. Preventing anterior knee pain after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Am J Sports Med. 1997. 25:41–47.
Article
14. Sohn SK, Kim KT, Cho KW. Anterior knee pain after tibia intramedullary nailing. J Korean Knee Soc. 1998. 10:109–113.
Article
15. Väistö O, Toivanen J, Paakkala T, Järvelä T, Kannus P, Järvinen M. Anterior knee pain after intramedullary nailing of a tibial shaft fracture: an ultrasound study of the patellar tendons of 36 patients. J Orthop Trauma. 2005. 19:311–316.
Article
16. Weale AE, Murray DW, Newman JH, Ackroyd CE. The length of the patellar tendon after unicompartmental and total knee replacement. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1999. 81:790–795.
Article
17. Westrich GH, Peters LE, Haas SB, Buly RL, Windsor RE. Patella height after high tibial osteotomy with internal fixation and early motion. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1998. (354):169–174.
Article
18. Windsor RE, Insall JN, Vince KG. Technical considerations of total knee arthroplasty after proximal tibial osteotomy. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1988. 70:547–555.
Article
19. Yoon YS, Rah JH. Histologic changes in dog intra-articular patellar tendon transplants. J Korean Orthop Assoc. 1992. 27:802–808.
Article
Full Text Links
  • JKFS
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr