Copyright
©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Dec 18, 2025; 16(12): 111602
Published online Dec 18, 2025. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i12.111602
Published online Dec 18, 2025. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i12.111602
Inferior patella dislocation in an elderly patient after a fall: A case report
Joshua R Brooks, Donald P Cawthorne, Department of Orthopaedics, Northern Beaches Hospital, Frenchs Forest 2086, New South Wales, Australia
Alex G Pitman, Philip Lucas, Stuart W T Wade, Department of Radiology, Northern Beaches Hospital, Frenchs Forest 2086, New South Wales, Australia
Author contributions: Brooks JR and Wade SWT designed the study and completed the literature review; Brooks JR and Cawthorne DP completed the surgery; Pitman AG, Lucas P, and Wade SWT interpreted the imaging; all authors made substantial contributions to writing and revising the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Joshua R Brooks, Department of Orthopaedics, Northern Beaches Hospital, 105 Frenchs Forest Road West, Frenchs Forest 2086, New South Wales, Australia.
Received: July 3, 2025
Revised: August 4, 2025
Accepted: October 29, 2025
Published online: December 18, 2025
Processing time: 166 Days and 17.5 Hours
Revised: August 4, 2025
Accepted: October 29, 2025
Published online: December 18, 2025
Processing time: 166 Days and 17.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Assessment of inferior patella dislocation should focus on the patella position, any fractures and the condition of the extensor mechanism. Closed reduction is possible in type 2 injuries (vertical orientation from osteophyte locking), however, success is dependent on the depth and size of the osteochondral defect and degree of patella rotation. Open reduction is recommended for type 1 (horizontal type) due to associated soft tissue injury which can be repaired. In type 2 injuries open reduction is recommended with large osteochondral defects requiring smoothing and or debridement, large osteophytes requiring resection or removal of intra-articular loose bodies.