Does femoral tunnel location have an effect on functional and clinical results in medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction?

Authors

İBRAHİM KAYAFollow
MURAT ÇİÇEKLİDAĞFollow
RESUL BİRCANFollow
MUSTAFA ODLUYURTFollow
ABDURRAHMAN VURALFollow
İNCİ HAZAL AYASFollow
MUHAMMET BAYBARS ATAOĞLUFollow
ULUNAY KANATLIFollow

Abstract

Background/aimMultiple reconstruction techniques have been described to mimic the normal anatomy and physiology of medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction (MPFL). The success of the MPFL depends on various factors such as graft selection, the location of the patellar tunnel and femoral tunnel (FT), and graft fixation methods. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship of femoral tunnel location with functional and clinical outcomes after MPFL reconstruction.Materials and methodsIn this study, the mid-term clinical results of patients who underwent MPFL reconstruction for patellofemoral instability in a single institution between 2013 and 2019 were evaluated retrospectively. If the FT was within the 6 mm diameter reference circle, the center of which is the Schottle point, the tunnel was accepted as anatomical, otherwise it was considered as a non-anatomical tunnel. The functional outcomes of the patients in both groups were evaluated with Kujala, Tampa kinesiophobia and VAS pain scoring.ResultsA total of 34 patients, 23 female (67.6%) and 11 male (32.4%), were evaluated in the study. The mean follow-up period was 48.92 ± 2.93 (months). Tunnel position was anatomical in 22 patients (64.7%) and non-anatomical in 12 patients (35.3%). Postoperative VAS pain scores of those in the anatomical tunnel group were significantly lower than those in the non-anatomical tunnel group (p = 0.015). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of Kujala and Tampa kinesiophobia scores (p > 0.05)ConclusionAlthough femoral tunnel placement did not affect functional scores in MPFL reconstruction in this study, malpositioning of the FT is associated with higher postoperative VAS pain score.

Author ORCID Identifier

İBRAHİM KAYA: 0000-0001-8205-6515

MURAT ÇİÇEKLİDAĞ: 0000-0001-7883-9445

RESUL BİRCAN: 0000-0002-3035-4008

MUSTAFA ODLUYURT: 0000-0003-1039-8430

ABDURRAHMAN VURAL: 0000-0002-7105-7624

İNCİ AYAS: 0000-0002-1928-2146

MUHAMMET ATAOĞLU: 0000-0003-1359-7013

ULUNAY KANATLI: 0000-0002-9807-9305

DOI

10.55730/1300-0144.5965

Keywords

femoral tunnel, functional outcome, Medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction, patellofemoral instability, Schottle point

First Page

250

Last Page

257

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

KAYA, İBRAHİM; ÇİÇEKLİDAĞ, MURAT; BİRCAN, RESUL; ODLUYURT, MUSTAFA; VURAL, ABDURRAHMAN; AYAS, İNCİ HAZAL; ATAOĞLU, MUHAMMET BAYBARS; and KANATLI, ULUNAY (2025) "Does femoral tunnel location have an effect on functional and clinical results in medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction?," Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences: Vol. 55: No. 1, Article 29. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0144.5965
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/medical/vol55/iss1/29