Superior dislocation of patella in a rugby player: an update on a extremely rare condition and review of literature

Abstract

Superior dislocation of patella without patellar ligament injury is a rare clinical condition: hence often brings diagnostic dilemma for Emergency physician. Only few cases have been reported in the literature and all of them had coexistant patellofemoral joint osteoarthritis. We present such dislocation in a 34-years old rugby player after a fall without any preexisting arthrosis in the knee. This case report aims to highlight a rare condition and subtle radiological findings while assessing acute knee pain. Differences of this dislocation with vertical type of intraarticular dislocation have been discussed.