Mersilene strip suture in repair of disruptions of the quadriceps and patellar tendons.

Disruptions of the extensor mechanism of the knee most commonly involve fracture of the patella. Less frequently, patellar and quadriceps tendons are ruptured either spontaneously or by trauma. Surgical reconstruction of these tendon injuries is complicated by the difficulty in completely neutralizing tensional force across the repair. To overcome this problem, methods have been developed to reinforce the repair with overlapping flaps or fascia lata. Others advocate wire sutures or loops to relieve the tension. These techniques prolong and complicate the initial procedure and in some methods require a secondary operation for removal of wire sutures. To simplify these repairs we have developed a method of end-to-end repairs using 5-mm Dacron polyethylene terephthalate fiber strips manufactured under the trade name of Mersilene (Ethicon, Somerville, NJ). The results of our first ten cases are presented.