Delta technique reconstruction of a failed patellar tendon repair: a case report

Abstract

Patellar tendon tears are rare debilitating injuries that deeply affect patients’ ability to ambulate. Prompt repair is recommended for more optimal outcomes. Chronic tears are more diffcult to treat. There is no standard of care procedure for this matter and multiple techniques have been described. In this article, we present a case of chronic recurrent patellar tendon tear that has failed surgery twice. The technique performed is a V-Y quadriceps-plasty along with a patellar tendon reconstruction using tibialis anterior allograft in a triangular fashion around the tibial tubercle or as we call a Delta repair of the patellar tendon. A dermal allograft was used to drape our construct providing a biological scaffold. This technique is not previously described as of the time of publication of this paper.