Patients with recurrent lateral patellar instability will be assigned to undergo one of two surgical approaches aimed to prevent recurrent patellar instability and result in improvement in function. One surgical approach will be medial retinacular plication with multiple stitches while the other surgical approach will include medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction using a hamstring tendon graft. Prior to surgery, and then during follow-up after surgery as well as at the completion of minimum two years follow-up after surgery, patients will be asked to complete subjective functional questionaires that will rate their knee function, and to undergo detailed physical examination and objective functional tests that will quantify the success of surgery. The outcomes of the surgical treatment options will be compared to determine whether medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction results in superior function and patient subjective satisfaction compared to medial retinacular plication only.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction results in superior functional outcomes compared to medial retinacular plication surgery in cases of recurrent patellar instability.