Broken patella

stowers · Silver Member Joined: 12 Aug 2000 Posts: 283

While playing football I got a kick in the knee. It was painful, but I could walk. My knee was a bit swollen and that was all. I went home, put some ice and there was no problem. Of course, a big bruise appeared very soon and the knee was still swollen and it hurt a lot, but I thought it would pass. On the following morning I couldn’t walk. When I was taken to the hospital the doctor diagnosed broken patella. Is this dangerous? I think the doctor mentioned surgery while talking to my mother.

romy · Silver Member Joined: 27 Sep 2000 Posts: 230

Patella is a synonym for kneecap - it is a small bone that covers the front of the knee. It can get broken after a fall or a sharp blow and the symptoms are swollen knee, pain, inability to walk or move knee forward and backward and in extremely hard cases the deformity of the knee. Your doctor probably checked the position of the bones on the X - ray and concluded that the surgery was necessary. Another test used to check whether the surgery is necessary is a straight leg raise - patient lies flat and then tries to raise his foot off the bed and keep it in the air. If the patient is able to perform this then it is possible to avoid surgery, if not, then surgery must be performed. The surgeon will remove small broken pieces of the bone and then use metal plates or wires to connect other parts and keep them fixed. General or local anaesthesia is used in this case.

Broken patella

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