Migration of a Kirschner wire to the dorsolateral side of the foot following osteosynthesis of a patella fracture with tension band wiring: a case report

BACKGROUND: Patella fractures represent 1 % of all musculoskeletal system fractures. Fixation of patellar fractures using open reduction and tension band wiring is a commonly used and successful surgical fixation method. CASE PRESENTATION: A 28-year-old male patient from Turkey presented to our clinic with complaints of palpable foreign bodies under the skin on the dorsolateral side of his right foot. Except for the palpable and moving body of about 6 cm length under the skin in his foot, he had no functional complaints. On X-ray, a Kirschner wire was visible in front of the lateral malleolus on the dorsolateral side of his right foot. In addition, there was a cerclage wire from the tension band fixation of his patella in the ipsilateral knee. The Kirschner wire was removed surgically. CONCLUSION: Despite the use of different fixation materials for the surgical treatment of patellar fractures, tension band wiring is still a commonly used technique. We recommend that after fixation of a patellar fracture using the tension band wiring technique, the ends of the Kirschner wires be bent and the wires then removed in the early phase after patellar union to prevent Kirschner wire migration.