• Harvinder Bedi and John Marzo.
• Department of Orthopedic Surgery, State University of New York, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.
• Am J Sports Med. 2010 Jul 1;38(7):1462-7.

BackgroundRepair of the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) for acute patellar instability has recently become popular, with good clinical success rates reported in the literature. Usually, a lateral retinacular release (LRR) is added to the medial repair in an effort to "rebalance" the patella. In the native knee, however, isolated LRR reduces the force required to displace the patella laterally and may be an undesirable component of instability surgery.HypothesisThe authors' hypothesis was that LRR, when performed after MPFL repair, would reduce the force required to displace the patella laterally.Study DesignControlled laboratory study.MethodsEight fresh-frozen human cadaveric knees were prepared as a model for acute patellar dislocation by transecting the MPFL at its patellar attachment. The knees were sequentially tested in the native (control), cut MPFL, repaired MPFL, and repaired MPFL with LRR conditions. Each knee was mounted and tested on an MTS machine that measured the amount of force required to displace the patella 1 cm laterally. Testing was done at 0 degrees , 15 degrees , 30 degrees , 45 degrees , and 60 degrees of knee flexion.ResultsCutting the MPFL reduced the force required to displace the patella 1 cm laterally by 14% to 22% compared with the native knee. Repair of the ligament restored the ability of the patella to resist lateral force. Adding a lateral release to the repair reduced the force required to displace the patella 1 cm by 7% to 11% compared with the MPFL-repaired knee.ConclusionAfter repair of the MPFL, adding an LRR lowered the ability of the patella to resist lateral displacement.Clinical RelevanceAccording to this study, LRR may not be routinely appropriate as a part of the stabilizing procedure to address acute patellar dislocation when the MPFL is avulsed from the patella.

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