Orthopedics This Week reports on the findings of a study conducted by Daniel W. Green, MD, MS, FAAP, FACS, pediatric orthopedic surgeon at HSS, and published in the November 2019 issue of Knee Surgery, Sports, Traumatology, Arthroscopy, which evaluated the use of the epiphyseal femoral socket for pediatric patients undergoing medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction.

Dr. Green and colleagues assessed the physeal safety in 54 knees in 49 pediatric patients who underwent physeal-sparing MPFL reconstruction performed by one surgeon between 2007 and 2016. The researchers found no evidence of physeal arrest and the median distance from the physis to the socket at the aperture and distal end of the femoral socket were 5.9 mm (range, 1.9-12) and 7.1 mm (1.3-12.4), respectively.

Dr. Green cited, “The results in the paper demonstrate that patella stabilization surgery with MPFL reconstruction can be performed safely and effectively in young patients with open growth plates.” He added, “We are proud at Hospital for Special Surgery to be one of the FIRST hospitals in the country to perform MPFL surgery in children and adolescents who suffer from patella dislocations. The results in the paper demonstrate that the surgery can be performed safely and effectively in patients who are growing.”

Read the article at ryothro.com.