Complications Following Tension-Band Fixation of Patellar Fractures with Cannulated Screws Compared with Kirschner Wires

Abstract

Serious complications are uncommon following treatment of patellar fractures with a modified tension-band technique, with use of either Kirschner wires or cannulated screws. In both groups the rate of fixation failure was low, as was the rate of postoperative infection. Symptomatic implants, the most common complication observed, were twice as frequent in patients treated with Kirschner wires.