Single-stage quadriceps tendon reconstruction with gastrocnemius fascia and knee soft tissue defect reconstruction with medial gastrocnemius flap-A case report

Introduction: Quadriceps tendon rupture, although uncommon, is associated with knee joint instability and requires surgical repair. A variety of methods including allografts, synthetic grafts and autologous tendons are used for tendon reconstruction. This work is reported in line with the SCARE criteria (Agha et al., 2018) for case report publication.

Presentation of case: A new method of simultaneous quadriceps tendon reconstruction and soft tissue knee reconstruction in a 38-year-old male patient following trauma to his knee and subsequent multiple surgeries and wound infections. In a single-stage procedure, gastrocnemius muscle fascia was used for quadriceps tendon reconstruction and medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle flap with split-thickness skin graft was used to cover the soft tissue defect on the anterior aspect of the knee following previous post-operative soft tissue infections and subsequent skin necrosis.

Discussion: The only way to maintain the vitality of the patella was to reconstruct the defect with well-vascularized tissue so we decided to use the medial gastrocnemius muscle flap. To obtain good quality tissue for the quadriceps tendon reconstruction, we decided to use the gastrocnemius muscle fascia to minimise the morbidity of the donor region and to reduce the duration of surgery.

Conclusion: Postoperatively, the patient had an excellent cosmetic outcome with full active extension and limited flexion of the knee joint caused by the preoperative condition. To our knowledge, quadriceps tendon reconstruction using the gastrocnemius muscle fascia has never been reported in English literature and is as valuable as already known reconstruction methods using other tendons or fascia.