title: Simultaneous acute rupture of the patellar tendon and the anterior cruciate ligament.
abstract: We present 3 cases of simultaneous rupture of the patellar tendon and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and discuss the diagnosis and treatment of this infrequent association. Between 1997 and 2000, 3 patients with a mean age of 37 years were treated with an ACL reconstruction and repair of the patellar tendon. The average follow-up was 3 years. Two of them were initially misdiagnosed. At follow-up, all patients had stable knees and the average Lysholm score was 95. In acute knee injuries with gross anteroposterior instability and a huge hematoma, the occurrence of this complex lesion should be considered. A careful clinical evaluation may be correlated with magnetic resonance imaging findings to provide the orthopaedic surgeon with the appropriate information for planning the timing and surgical treatment.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Orthopaedics Carlos E. Ottolenghi, Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. matias.costa@hospitalitaliano.org.ar
authors.forename: Matias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costa-Paz
authors.forename: D Luis
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Muscolo
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Makino
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ayerza
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001182:Arthroscopy; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries; D001915:Braces; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006406:Hematoma / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000628:therapy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017888:Medial Collateral Ligament, Knee / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D017847:Patellar Ligament / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery / Q000637:transplantation; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012421:Rupture; D012916:Soccer / Q000293:injuries; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous