VIDEO: Knee Positioning During Radiographs Can Influence Patellar Height in Patella Alta Assessment
In This Article
- When assessing patella alta during the management of patellar instability, knee position can influence the measurement of patellar height at the time of radiographs, according to results
- Miho J. Tanaka, MD, PhD, and colleagues created 3D models of the knees of patients who had patellar instability and performed rotation of the knee and created 2D images in various positions to measure the patella alta in each position
- If there was more than 4 mm of overlap of the distal condyles or the posterior condyles, the measurements were more likely to vary from the measurements performed in a perfect lateral condition
When assessing patella alta during the management of patellar instability, knee position can influence the measurement of patellar height at the time of radiographs, according to results.
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Miho J. Tanaka, MD, PhD, director of the Women's Sports Medicine Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues created 3D models of the knees of patients who had patellar instability. They performed rotation of the knee and created 2D images in various positions to measure the patella alta in each position.
"What we found was the measurements of alta varied with rotation and with abduction and adduction," Dr. Tanaka told Healio in a video testimonial about results presented at the 2023 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. "Generally, if there was more than 4 mm of overlap of the distal condyles or the posterior condyles, the measurements were more likely to vary from the measurements performed in a perfect lateral condition. Surgeons should be aware of this when using those measurements to indicate procedures such as distalization of the tuberosity."
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