Study of patellar fractures treated by modified tension band wiring– A prospective study

Background and objectives: Patellar fractures are common and it constitutes about 1% of all skeletal injuries resulting from either direct or indirect trauma. Patella is of importance for the extension of knee joint, which increases the force of quadriceps apparatus by improving the leverage. This study directed towards the functional results and complications of modified tension band wiring for patella fractures. Materials and methods: This prospective study is done in Department of Orthopaedics at Sri Siddhartha medical college, hospital and Research Center Tumkur during the period from September 2015 and February 2017. This study consists of 20 cases of displaced transverse fracture patella treated by modified tension band wiring. Results: In this study, average age was of 39.7 with male patients outnumbered the females by more than double, Right sided patellar fractures were predominant, 70% of our patients had no pain or only mild pain. Only 20%of our patients had significant extensor lag and nearly 80% had normal quadriceps strength. We had 70% excellent and 20% good and 10% poor results according to modified scale of bostman et al.Conclusion: Our study shows that modified tension band wiring is a definitive procedure in management of displaced transverse patellar fracture with least complications. This surgery of modified tension band wiring helps for early mobilization post-operatively which plays an important role in final outcome. Early and continuous physiotherapy following surgery is a paramount importance in determining the end results.