Patellar tendinopathy after arthroscopic meniscectomy: a case report.

BACKGROUND

Arthroscopic meniscal surgical procedures as a whole have a low complication rate. The objective of this article is to report on a rare acute patellar tendinopathy after a knee arthroscopic procedure and to provide a brief discussion of its potential pathogenesis.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old man reported acute anterior knee pain 2 weeks after a knee arthroscopical meniscectomy. The MRI showed full-thickness signal alteration of the patellar tendon including proximal and distal insertions. Histological examination of an open excisional biopsy revealed myxoid degeneration. At 1 year, the patient referred significantly clinical improvement and MRI showed signs of tendon healing.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Tendon complications after knee arthroscopy are extremely rare. We reported on an unusual case of idiopathic acute patellar tendinopathy after arthroscopic meniscectomy. In this case, excisional biopsy allowed precise diagnosis and help to obtain a good clinical outcome.