Department of Emergency Medicine

UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: What's the Diagnosis? Case by Dr. Michael Allison (@mgallison15)

Category: Visual Diagnosis

Posted: 2/16/2015 by Haney Mallemat, MD
Click here to contact Haney Mallemat, MD

Question

28 year-old male felt his left knee "pop" after landing from a jump. He has limited ability to extend his knee. Xray shown. What's the diagnosis?

Answer

Patella Alta secondary to patellar tendon rupture
Patella Alta
  • Mechanism is knee flexion combined with forceful contraction of the quadriceps
  • Swelling, patellar tenderness, and limited extension of knee
  • Radiographs are helpful in diagnosis when using the Insall-Salvatti ratio (see references)

Reference

References

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