Tibial Tubercle Avulsions

Tibial tuberosity fractures in adolescents

“…Thus, genu recurvatum is usually not considered a complication often associated with this fracture due to the time in which the fracture occurs relative to physiologic physiodesis [2,4,7,19]. However, leg length discrepancy and/or genu recurvatum would most likely be associated with young physiologic age or improper surgical technique.…”

“…Avulsion fracture of the tibial tubercle is a relatively uncommon injury, with a reported incidence ranging from 0.4% to 2.7%, usually seen in adolescent males approaching skeletal maturity [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] with well developed quadriceps musculature. Typically, these fractures present with marked displacement of the entire proximal apophysis, with or without intra-articular extension, and variable associated soft tissue injury.…”

Imaging Review of Adolescent Tibial Tuberosity Fractures

“…When surgical intervention is necessary, a cancellous screw and tension band wiring are the treatment of choice (Table 2) [4,7]. …”

“…Open reduction and internal fixation is performed for types IIB, IIIA, IIIB, and IV tibial tuberosity avulsion fractures [1, 3,4,6,17]. In addition, associated quadriceps or patellar tendon avulsions should be repaired to restore the extensor mechanism [1].…”

“…Several sports, including running, gymnastics, springboard diving, and football have been implicated with this injury. However, high jumping and basketball are most often associated [1, 3,4].…”