title: Editorial Commentary: Proximal Stabilization for Recurrent Patellar Dislocation--Respect the Anatomy and Achieve Excellent Outcomes Regardless of Specific Technique.
abstract: In a Level IV evidence systematic review of 13 studies comparing medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction and medial soft-tissue realignment for recurrent lateral patellar instability without osseous pathology, both techniques showed excellent outcomes with low recurrent dislocation rates (<10% for both) without significant clinical, radiographic, or instability differences between the two groups at minimum 2-year follow-up. As in all well-designed and -conducted systematic reviews, the authors delicately balance study homogeneity (similar patients and surgical procedures-excluding distal osseous realignment and first-time dislocators) and heterogeneity (improved generalizability: dichotomized medial soft-tissue realignment and medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction).
authors.forename: Joshua D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000601:surgery*; D008022:Ligaments / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D031222:Patellar Dislocation / Q000601:surgery*; D011859:Radiography