Minimally invasive quadricepsplasty using the adolphson– cerqueira technique: a retrospective study after 1-year of follow-up

Abstract

Objective: Knee stiffness limits activities of daily living with treatment having no gold standard technique currently. We present follow-up data 1-year after quadricepsplasty using the Adolphson–Cerqueira technique for the treatment of knee stiffness in a Brazilian population sample.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent a quadricepsplasty using the Adolphson–Cerqueira technique between January 2006 and March 2023 at our institution. The inclusion criteria were: (1) Knee stiffness with a range of motion <70°; (2) Patellar excursion ≥2 mm on physical examination; (3) Available knee radiography in the anteroposterior and lateral views; and (4) A follow-up at 1 year postoperatively. The Judet Classification was used to assess the outcome of the quadricepsplasty.

Results: Sixty-seven patients were included. The results were 6% poor, 31.3% fair, 44.8% good, and 17.9% excellent according to the Judet Classification. A correlation was observed between age and the gain in range of motion at the 1-year postoperative follow-up, and between the gain in range of motion intraoperatively and that at the 1-year follow-up. There were five cases of complications (7.46%): one of patellar fracture, three of quadriceps tendon rupture, and one of avulsion fracture in the superior pole of the patella.

Conclusion: Quadricepsplasty using the Adolphson–Cerqueira technique produced satisfactory results overall for improving knee joint stiffness and had a complication rate comparable with other currently used techniques.

Clinical significance: Loss of knee range of motion remains a difficult problem without there being a clear gold standard in treatment. Many different options are described in the literature. We provide a further option with follow-up results.