Lateral release of the lateral patellar retinaculum: Literature review for select patellofemoral disorders

Abstract

Although lateral release (LR) is a commonly performed surgical procedure, the indications for this type of treatment remain controversial. The purpose of this review is to give a systematic classification of the diagnoses for which LR has been carried out. Additionally, an overview of the published studies will be presented showing which diagnosis is an indication for LR based on the short- and long-term clinical results. In the literature, four diagnoses can be found, for which several retrospective studies on the outcome after LR surgery have been set up. These four diagnoses include: episodic patellar dislocation (EPD), patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PF OA), excessive lateral hyperpression syndrome (ELHS), and total knee replacement (TKR). In this review, only the first three will be discussed (Fig. 16.1). Furthermore, it is of interest to classify LR as a performed as an isolated procedure or concomitantly with another proximal or a distal procedure, or a combination of these two. LR in combination with a medial procedure (medial reefing, reconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament, or reposition of the musculus vastus medialis obliquus) is indicated in EPD in select settings. LR in ELHS shows satisfactory long-term results. In patellofemoral OA, LR does not show good long-term results and is therefore not indicated in isolation. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.