title: The incidence of infrapatellar plicae in the elderly Welsh population.
abstract: There are several studies reporting the incidence of suprapatellar, medial, and  lateral plicae, but there is very limited information regarding the incidence of  the infrapatellar plica. The purpose of our study was to record the incidence of  infrapatellar plicae in the elderly Welsh population suffering from knee osteoarthritis.  A prospective study was performed and 90 knees with severe osteoarthritis  of the knee joint (Kellgren-Lawrence type III and IV) were investigated  during total knee arthroplasty surgery. Documentation was performed  at every total knee replacement surgery for the length of the study. Knee replacement  was performed by one senior surgeon. Infrapatellar plica was investigated  by a medial parapatellar approach and was classified into five types  according to Kim's classification. The overall incidence of infrapatellar plicae  was 37.7%. The most common type of plicae was the separate type (23.3%).  There was no significant difference found between male and female patients.  The fenestra type was the least common (2.22%). The incidence of infrapatellar  plicae in the elderly Welsh population suffering from knee osteoarthritis  was significantly lower when compared to a study that recorded the incidence  of infrapatellar plica in young patients. Possibly, the degenerative changes of  the knee joint can cause the resorption of the infrapatellar plica, thus decreasing  its incidence in the elderly population.
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Department, Prince Charles Hospital, UK. aalexgr2000@yahoo.com
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Apostolopoulos
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McConnell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manta
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zafiropoulos
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology