Lykos Stavros, Tsivelekas Konstantinos, Pallis Dimitrios, Ampadiotaki Margarita-Michaela, Papadakis Stamatios A
B' Department of Orthopaedics, KAT General Hospital of Attica, Athens, Greece.
J Orthop Case Rep. 2024 Aug;14(8):164-167. doi: 10.13107/jocr.2024.v14.i08.4686.
Isolated ruptures of the vastus lateralis (VL) tendon are exceptionally rare, with few reported cases in the orthopedic literature. This case report sheds light on non-surgical management for partial VL tendon ruptures, providing insight into an alternative treatment pathway that avoids surgical intervention.
A 27-year-old Caucasian male experienced a partial, isolated rupture of the VL tendon after a minor fall. The injury was confirmed through magnetic resonance imaging at the lateral patellar insertion. The patient displayed no knee instability and was treated conservatively with platelet-poor plasma injections, a hinged knee brace, and targeted physiotherapy.
This case illustrates that conservative treatment can be effective for patients with isolated partial VL tendon ruptures, particularly when knee stability is maintained. The patient achieved full activity recovery within 6 months, highlighting the potential of non-surgical options to provide successful outcomes in similar cases. This report enriches our understanding of tendon injury management and emphasizes the clinical viability of conservative strategies, potentially influencing treatment decisions for similar orthopedic injuries.
股外侧肌（VL）肌腱孤立性断裂极为罕见，骨科文献中报道的病例很少。本病例报告揭示了部分VL肌腱断裂的非手术治疗方法，为避免手术干预的替代治疗途径提供了见解。
一名27岁的白人男性在轻微跌倒后发生了部分性、孤立性VL肌腱断裂。通过磁共振成像在髌骨外侧附着点处确诊了该损伤。患者未表现出膝关节不稳定，采用贫血小板血浆注射、铰链式膝关节支具和针对性物理治疗进行保守治疗。
本病例表明，保守治疗对于孤立性部分VL肌腱断裂患者可能有效，尤其是在维持膝关节稳定性的情况下。患者在6个月内完全恢复了活动能力，突出了非手术选择在类似病例中取得成功结果的潜力。本报告丰富了我们对肌腱损伤管理的理解，并强调了保守策略的临床可行性，可能会影响类似骨科损伤的治疗决策。
