Presentation
A 12-year-old teenager referred with chronic, anterior knee pain. The pain was acute three months ago, after landing from a jump
Patient Data
Lateral x-ray shows fragmentation of the proximal insertion of the patellar tendon with a well-corticated margin in keeping with a type 1 bipartite patella.
Case Discussion
Bipartite patella (two-part patella) is an unfused accessory ossification center at the superolateral aspect of patella. Prevalence of bipartite patella is approximately 2% of the population and is about 43% bilaterally. Bipartite patella is usually asymptomatic and only 2% of patients with bipartite patella experience symptoms such as anterior knee pain, especially after trauma, sports injury, or overuse.
Saupe classification of bipartite patellas is:
- type I: inferior pole ~1%
- type II: lateral margin ~20-25%
- type III: superolateral portion ~75%
Our patient case was a painful bipartite patella following injury.
Regarding imaging and clinical findings, Sinding-Larsen-Johansson syndrome should be discriminated from bipartite patella especially type I.
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