Patellar subluxation and dislocation are well known to cause articular damage. More recently, there has been awareness that patellar tracking abnormalities may produce symptoms in the absence of actual mechanical instability.
The etiology of pain is probably related to the abnormal stress imposed on the articular surface by the presence of malalignment.
When patellofemoral malalignment, creating recurrent subluxation of the patellar or excessive lateral pressure is the etiology of the pain, lateral release is a fundamental procedure that offers reasonable expectations of symptom relief.
In cases of frank recurrent patellar dislocation, then lateral release alone is insufficient to correct the problem. In these instances, a more extensive realignment is recommended.
Recently the arthroscope has become a very important role in the diagnosis and treatment of malalignment of the patellofemoral joint.
Especially, arthroscopic lateral release is the simplest and most minor procedure available, and considerable success has been reported with it.
One of the complications with arthroscopic lateral release has been postoperative hemoarthrosis, this complication delays rehabilitation and increases morbidity.
In an attempt to alleviat this complication, electrosurgical instumentation and techniques have developed in which subcutaneous lateral release can be done under arthroscopic control.
Our results would seem to indicate the hemostasis can be secured by electrosurgical technique, and the results compare favorably with other reported series on this type of surgery.
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