Functional outcomes of medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction using the superficial quadriceps versus a hamstring autograft in patellar instability patients: a retrospective comparative study.

Abstract Purpose This study aims to compare the clinical outcomes between a superficial quadriceps autograft and a hamstring autograft. Methods A total of 47 consecutive patients with patellar instability, who underwent QA and HA for patellar stabilization at a specified center between 2012 and 2020, were retrospectively reviewed. The final radiographic and outcome measurements included; the knee’s range of motion and the Kujala and Lysholm scores were reviewed and analyzed with a minimum follow-up period of 12 months. Results 22 QA and 25 HA patients met the eligibility criteria. There were 50% of males and females with a median age of 25 years (range 12–58) in the QA group, while 40% were males with a median age of 25 years (range 14–51) in the HA group. The mean follow-up period was 38.4 months (range 12–70) in QA and 59 months (range 16–96) in the HA group. At the final follow-up, no complications were observed with either technique. No patients presented with recurrent dislocations or subluxations after surgery. There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative mean Kujala scores (QA = 94.6 +/- 4.1 and HA = 94.0 +/- 7.6, p = 0.36) or the mean Lysholm scores (QA = 93.9 +/- 4.9 and HA = 93.0 +/- 6.6, p = 0.30). Conclusion MPFL reconstruction for patellar instability surgery using either QA or HA achieved good clinical outcomes during a minimum follow-up of 1 year. No significant differences in clinical outcome scores were observed in both groups.