Outcome of Fabellar Excision on Return to Sport and Performance for an Elite Athlete With Established Lateral Compartment Chondropathy

Samra, David; Cross, Tom Peete; Feller, Julian A.; Gultekin, Sinem

doi:10.1177/23259671211034157

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…Cartilaginous fabellae have been handled in different ways when determining prevalence. Anatomical studies generally classify fabellae into two groups, bony/hard/ossified versus cartilaginous/nonbony/elastic, using manual inspection alone [13,14]. These categorizations have also been confirmed using histological staining [4][5][6].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One reason that the fabella has not received much attention is its perceived lack of clinical importance. "Fabella syndrome" is recognized, which presents most commonly as a complaint of posterolateral knee pain and is often treated by fabellectomy [10][11][12][13]. Another symptom associated with fabella syndrome is palsy of the adjacent common fibular nerve [11,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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X-ray Imaging Versus Anatomical Dissection for Identification of the Fabella

Bauman,

Alzahabi

2024

Cureus

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Introduction: Reported prevalence rates of the fabella sesamoid bone vary widely, particularly between studies based on either X-ray imaging or anatomical dissection approaches. The purpose of this study was to directly compare these two methodologies in their detection of fabellae and investigate whether variability in the density of fabellae could explain any discrepancies. Methods: Fifty cadaveric knee segments were examined for the presence of a fabella by both X-ray imaging and anatomical dissection. The relative density of each excised fabella specimen was then quantified using a separate set of radiographs. Results: Fabellae were detected in 40% of the sample knees via a manual dissection approach but in just 12% of those same specimens using X-ray imaging. Relative density measurements confirmed that fabellae identifiable only via dissection were significantly less dense than fabellae visible in whole knee radiographs but denser than the surrounding tissue. Conclusion: Radiology cannot reliably detect cartilaginous or incompletely ossified fabellae, which were found in 28% of the study population. Clinicians should consider the potential occurrence of a fabella when diagnosing posterolateral knee pain, even if it may not be visible via X-ray.

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