Spontaneous rupture of the popliteus tendon in a 74-year-old woman and review of the literature.

Abstract

Spontaneous rupture of the popliteus tendon has not previously been reported. We report the case of a 74-year-old patient, discuss its diagnosis and management, and review the current literature on isolated popliteus lesions. A multi-database electronic literature review suggests that the injury is invariably traumatic and has essentially been reported only in young, active individuals. It should be suspected in a patient with acute lateral knee pain who, on examination, has a hemarthrosis and a stable, possibly locked knee. The diagnosis is readily made using arthroscopy. While both conservative treatment with physiotherapy and open repair have been advocated, we describe a successful outcome of arthroscopic resection in an elderly patient and propose that popliteus injury is not confined to a younger age group. The balance of opinion in the current literature is that acute traumatic rupture in the young patient is managed by primary surgical repair, but successful outcome is also reported with nonoperative treatment.