Management of refractory nonunion of the patella combined with handicapped joint function / 中国矫形外科杂志

ABSTRACT

[Objective]To explore the cause and treatment of refractory nonunion of patella combined with handicapped joint function.[Method]Retrospective analysis was given to twenty-four patients diagnosed as patellar nonunion that had been admitted to our hospital from Jan 1992 to Jan 2006.The series included fifteen males and nine females with an average age of 36(range 12-71) years.Initial treatment of the original fractures was nonoperative in 3,cerclage with wiring or suture silk in 11,tension band wiring in 6 and modified tension band wiring in 4.All fractures progressed to symptomatic nonunion at an average of 18 months from original injury(range 5-32).All patients were given open reduction and internal fixation,which consisted of Nickel-Titanium patella concentrator(NT-PC) in 9,NT-PC combined with cannulated compression screws in 6,combined with Kirschner wire in 5 and tension band wiring in 4.[Result]Twenty-four patients were followed up with an average of 35(range 6-168) months.The time of bone union averaged 4.2(range 3-6) months.No bone block displacement,loosening or breakage of internal fixation happened.According to Xu Shaoting' s knee function scores,the results were excellent in 14 cases,good in 6 cases,fair in 3 cases and poor in 1 cases.The excellent and good rate was 83.3%.[Conclusion]Operative reconstruction of smooth joint surface,rigid internal fixation and early functional exercise are effective remedies to refractory nonunion of patella combined with handicapped joint function.