Hammock plating for comminuted inferior sleeve avulsion fractures of the patella: A surgical technique and clinical results.

Comminuted inferior sleeve avulsion fractures of the patella is a surgical challenge owing to the lack of directly purchasable bone fragments and the vulnerable patellar tendon below the displaced lip fragments. Despite the reports of various techniques to treat this fracture, still there is need for a new surgical technique to improve the reduction construct. The purpose of this article is to introduce Hammock plating, which is a surgical technique for comminuted inferior sleeve avulsion patella fractures that utilizes synthetic suture and a low-profile mini plate. The reduction construct provides an indirect reduction of the inferior sleeve fragments to form a hammock-like construct that embraces and lifts the lip fragments upward altogether that enables a firm bone-to-bone union. The advantages also include relatively simple and easy procedure with less injury to the fractured bone fragments and patellar tendon.