Background

Injury to the quadriceps tendon is rare and most commonly occurs in middle-aged men. There are few reports of outcomes after quadriceps tendon rupture in young patients.

Hypothesis/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent quadriceps tendon repair at 40 years of age or younger.

Study Design: Level IV, Retrospective Case Series

Methods

Via an institutional database, patients who underwent quadriceps tendon repair between January 2009 and December 2017 were retrospectively identified. Patients were included if they were 40 years of age or younger at the time of surgery and sustained an isolated, complete rupture. Patient and injury characteristics were recorded. Patients were contacted to complete a custom survey, the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Lysholm, and Tegner Activity Level surveys.

Results

Forty patients (81.6%) were available for follow-up at a mean 5.9 + 2.4 years (range, 2.4-11.3 years). Thirty-five patients (87.5%) were male with a mean age of 32.4 + 6.9 years (range, 15-40). At final follow-up the mean IKDC score was 74.0 + 22.8 (range, 26.4-100.0) and mean Lysholm score was 86.2 + 19.9 (range, 30-100). Tegner surveys revealed that only 17 patients (42.5%) had unchanged or higher activity level after surgery, whereas 23 patients (57.5%) reported lower activity levels postoperatively. Overall, 88.6% of workers returned at a mean 3.7 months after surgery while 65% of athletes were able to return to play at 8.2 months. At final follow-up, only one patient (2.5%) had sustained an ipsilateral re-tear of the quadriceps tendon and no other major complications occurred.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study demonstrates that patients 40 years of age and younger have satisfactory outcomes at midterm follow-up after quadriceps tendon repair with over 90% returning to work and 65% of athletes returning to play.