Lateral Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction With Semitendinosus Allograft in the Setting of Previous Lateral Release

The lateral patellofemoral ligament acts to resist medial displacement of the patella. When medial subluxation occurs, it usually has an iatrogenic cause such as prior lateral release, an over-tightened medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction, or detachment of the vastus lateralis from the patella. The justification for lateral retinacular release has historically been to address extensor mechanism issues such as imbalance of the mechanism due to increased retinacular tension. We present a Technical Note on the treatment of chronic medial patellar instability due to a previous lateral retinacular release using a soft-tissue reconstruction approach with a semitendinosus allograft.