Late patellar tendon ruptures after removal of the central third for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction - A report of two cases

The standard in ACL reconstruction currently involves the use of the central-third patellar tendon autograft.(31) Donor site morbidity, however, remains an important issue because an increasing number of extensor mechanism complications continue to be reported.(10,25-28) One of the more rare complications is a rupture of the remaining patellar tendon. Among the few cases reported, all have occurred within 10 months after the operation.(4,5,8,11,16) This report discusses two cases of late ruptures of the patellar tendon that occurred at more than 3 and 6 years, respectively, after removal of the central-third patellar tendon for ACL reconstruction.