Efficient Recognition and Closed Reduction of Locked Lateral Patella Dislocation

Patellar dislocation is not an uncommon injury in the general population that can often be managed in the emergency room with a closed reduction. However, rarely, the patella can become impacted on the lateral femoral condyle and become resistant to closed reduction techniques, which is known as a locked patellar dislocation. This injury is reported in the literature as requiring advanced imaging with a costly workup, operative intervention, or extensive manipulation under general anesthesia, and, to our knowledge, has never been documented to be closed reduced outside the operating room. In this report, we present a 17-year-old male with a locked lateral patella dislocation and describe a new approach to efficiently diagnose and close reduce this injury in the ER under conscious sedation without advanced pre-treatment studies or urgent treatment in the operating room (OR).