Patellar Dislocation Treatment Options
Many dislocations will reduce on their own but some will require reduction. This is attempted many times in the field or on the sidelines during sporting events, but some may require sedation. This is generally performed by placing medial pressure on the patella while extending the knee. Patellar dislocations can lead to cartilage injuries, osteochondral fractures, recurrent instability, chronic pain and patellar osteoarthritis. As with shoulder dislocations, recurrence is not uncommon. Reports range from 15% to 80 % and after a second dislocation, the chance of patellar instability is greater than 50 percent [1-4]. A heterogeneous patient population, challenging surgical techniques and lack of long-term and robust clinical outcome studies make the management of recurrent patellar instability very difficult.

Image 1. Xray demonstrating laterally dislocated patella (courtesy of wikipedia)

Image 2. Illustration of normal patella, patellar subluxation vs patellar dislocation (courtesy of kneeandshoulderclinic.com.au)

Figure 1. Treatment algorithm for recurrent patellar instability (adopted from Weber, 2016)
– Read More: https://wikism.org/Patellar_Dislocation
– https://www.sportsmedreview.com/blog/patellar-dislocation-introduction-and-diagnosis