Surgical treatment for fractured kneecaps

The kneecap is an important part of your knee, it is essential to be able to flex the knee. If your kneecap is broken, it is recommended to operate it.

What is surgical treatment for a fractured kneecap?

The Surgeon will make a cut in the middle of the knee to have access to the broken bone and reposition it in its natural position, for this reason two wires will be used to hold it and reposition the bone. When everything is fixed the surgeon will close the incision, the stitches will be removed between 10 to 14 days. The affected area is usually plastered to reduce mobility and correct the position of the bone. 2 weeks after surgery you must return to the hospital to evaluate the wound.

Operation risk

As with all procedures, this carries some risks and complications.

Common

• Pain: The operation involves moving the tissues which leads to pain, to relieve these pains can talk to your surgeon for analgesics.
• Scar: The operation will leave a small scar at the operation site.
• Remove the wires: The wires that help the bone reposition itself may begin to irritate the skin or cause infection; they can be easily removed.
• Stiffness: You may feel some stiffness in the operated area but with physical therapy you will reduce stiffness.

Rare

• Infection: There may be redness in the area where the operation was performed after the operation, or there may be an area with discharge. It may be necessary to take antibiotics to treat these infections.
• Hypertrophic Scar: These scars are exaggerated growths of the tissue where the scar has been made. They can be treated with steroid injection or surgically if necessary.
• Delayed wound healing: This may occur if the wound is under tension, infected, or has poor blood circulation.
• Fat necrosis: This can also happen due to delayed wound healing.
• Bleeding: There will inevitably be some bleeding.
• Neurovascular Damage: As there are numerous blood vessels around the ankle may be damaged during the operation, in most cases restores the damage caused without any consequences.
• Deep Venous Thrombosis: A blood clot in the blood vessels.
• Delay: If the bone is damaged it may not be a good with the other part of the bone, if this happens it may be necessary to have surgery again.