title: Dislocation of an enlarged fabella as uncommon cause of knee pain: a case report.
abstract: The fabella is a sesamoid bone that can very occasionally act as a source of atypical knee pain, often mistaken for a more common cause of clinical symptoms, such as an intra-articular loose body or an osteophyte. We report a case of symptomatic dislocation of an osteoarthritic, enlarged fabella, 4 years after total excision of the patella for a comminuted fracture, that was primarily overlooked and led to repeated diagnostic arthroscopy of the knee. A thorough history and physical examination of the joint as well as appropriate roentgenographic studies could have spared this patient an unnecessary arthroscopy and indicated the correct therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Campus Biomedico University, Via Longoni, 83, 00155 Rome, Italy. f.franceschi@unicampus.it
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Franceschi
authors.forename: Umile Giuseppe
authors.initials: UG
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruzzini
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leonardi
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gualdi
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Denaro
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D001182:Arthroscopy; D006801:Humans; D031221:Knee Dislocation / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D012716:Sesamoid Bones / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery