ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study clinical effects of multi-point fixation with bioabsorbable cartilage screws for the treatment of osteochondral fracture caused by patellar instability.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>During the period from August 2014 to Steptember 2016, there were 21 patients with osteochondral fracture caused by patellar dislocation, including 7 males and 14 females, ranging in age from 12 to 42 years old, with an average of 27 years old. During the operation, free fractures fragments of cartilage were found with a open surgery, and the patients were treated with fixation by absorbable cartilage screws combined with lateral retinaculum release and medial retinaculum shrinkage. The Lysholm scoring scale was used to evaluate the knee joint functions before and after operation. The retrospective study analyzing the data was carried out.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients underwent successful surgeries and were followed up with a mean period of 12 months(ranged, 8 to 22 months). The CT and X-ray examinations were performed after the operation which showed the fracture fragments were on good positon. The exercise level in all the patients basically returned to the pre-injury level. The postoperative Lysholm score was 86.11±4.97.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The absorbable cartilage nail can effectively fix the free cartilage fragments of the osteochondral fracture due to the patellar instability, which is a simple operation, and worthy of clinical promotion.</p>