A Rare Case of Patella Fracture in Osteopetrosis

CASE:Fractures in patients with osteopetrosis pose unique technical challenges to the orthopaedic surgeon. We present a case of a 43-year-old man with osteopetrosis who underwent tension band wiring of a patella fracture. The intraoperative appearance of osteopetrotic bone, technical difficulties in passing wires through dense bone, and how this was overcome are presented.CONCLUSIONS:A simple transverse fracture of the patella in a patient with osteopetrosis can be fixed successfully using a standard tension band construct.