One hundred patients were operated on by the Maquet procedure for chondromalacia patellae. All of them were first re-examined after a mean follow-up of 4 years, and 65 of them re-examined after a mean follow-up of 11 years (range, 8-15 years). The pain score improved significantly after the operation and remained unchanged with longer follow-up. The success rate was only 62% at both follow-ups. Outerbridge grade IV chondral lesions at the time of surgery were associated with a significant improvement of the pain score at the 4-year follow-up and a success rate of 69%. The Maquet procedure should only be proposed for chronic retropatellar pain with grade IV chondral lesions, after conservative treatment has proven unsuccessful, as the expected failure rate is about 30%.

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