Medium to long-term outcomes of medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction using the superficial quadriceps versus a hamstring autograft in patellar instability patients

Abstract

Medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction is a standard procedure in patellar dislocation patients. Superficial quadriceps autografts (QA) and hamstring autografts (HA) are popular graft choices in MPFL reconstruction with the lack of directly compared clinical studies between both methods. A total of 43 patellar instability patients, who underwent QA and HA for patellar stabilization at a specified center between 2012 and 2021, were retrospectively reviewed. 21 QA and 22 HA patients were 52.4% of males and 47.6% females with a median age of 25 years (range 12–58) in the QA group, while 63.6% were females with a median age of 21 years (range 14–58) in the HA group. The mean follow-up period was 46.9 months (range 24–77) in QA and 61 months (range 24–100) in the HA group. At the final follow-up, no complications were observed with either technique. No patients presented with recurrent dislocations after surgery. There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative mean Kujala scores (QA = 94.9+/− 4.1 and HA = 94.2+/− 8.0, p = 0.73) or the mean Lysholm scores (QA = 94.1+/− 5.0 and HA = 93.2+/− 7.0, p = 0.61).