Nonabsorbable transosseous sutures for lower pole patella fractures: An effective surgical technique to prevent implant complications

Abstract

Background: Treatment alternatives for patella fractures with the inferior pole are still being deliberated. In addition to tension-band wiring, metal implant-related complications are also not uncommon to occur in patellar fracture treatment. It is common to encounter implant-related complications such as implants failing, palpable hardware which require supplementary techniques to resolve. We evaluated participants with inferior poles of patella fracture treated with transosseous nonabsorbable sutures on functional outcomes. Methodology: This study encompasses observation of patients having transosseous suture fixation by no. 5 Ethibond for fixation of distal pole patella fractures. This was a longitudinal study piloted at a tertiary care center between January 2020 and June 2022. Patients' functional outcomes were assessed using the Bostman score. Results: The Bostman scoring system was used to evaluate the outcome at the final follow-up. In 19 patients, 7 (36.84%) patients showed outstanding and 11 (57.89%) patients showed good outcomes at the termination of 9 months follow-up. Only one patient established an unsatisfactory result. Conclusion: Distal pole patella fractures can be effectively fixed via transosseous suturing with unabsorbable sutures. Fast recovery and minimal implant-related complications are possible with this procedure. The resurgery rate is also significantly reduced.