Reconstruction of a chronic quadriceps tendon tear in a body builder

Abstract

Chronic quadriceps tendon tears are uncommon. We report about a body builder taking a cocktail of anabolic drugs for several years in whom reconstruction of a chronic quadriceps tendon tear was performed using ipsilateral hamstring tendons with good results despite the 7 month delay between injury and surgery. The use of hamstring tendons is a good option for the management of these lesions.

Quadriceps tendon injuries

“…Our patients also had these risk factors. Gout, systemic lupus erythematosus, infection, metabolic disease, steroid abuse, tumors and leukemia are also potential risk factors [15,23,25], which were not found in our study sample. Our patients with chronic renal failure were the most vulnerable group for quadriceps tendon injury.…”

“…Quadriceps tendon ruptures are rare injuries, and they are presented most often as individual case reports [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] or reported as small series of 20-39 patients [3,[16][17][18]. Less than a hundred cases of bilateral tendon ruptures have been published in international literature until now [2][3][4].…”

Adult native knee extensor mechanism ruptures

“…Chronic quadriceps rupture on the other hand may be significantly more challenging due to tendon scarring and retraction, leading to poorer surgical outcomes when compared to acute repairs [65]. There are reports of favourable outcomes if the tendon can be approximated following medial and lateral releases [67]. When this proves impossible, surgical options include tendon lengthening techniques such as V-Y plasty and the Codvilla technique [54,64], hamstring grafting techniques [67] and synthetic Leeds ÀKeio ligament implantation, with the added benefit of its collagen inducing properties [68].…”

Long-Term Outcome After Surgical Treatment of Acute and Chronic Quadriceps Tendon Rupture

“…Early diagnosis and surgery is important, since delay in surgical repair generally affects the outcome adversely (1,12). In contrast, successful restoration of QTR is reported to be achievable even several years after tendon rupture, though with more difficulty (4,6).…”