Quadricepsplasty: the Judet technique and results of 21 posttraumatic cases.

Twenty-one quadricepsplasty procedures were carried out on 21 patients over a 14-year period due to posttraumatic stiffness of the knee joint. Three patients (14.2%) required mobilization under anesthesia in the early postoperative period. The average interval between injury and quadricepsplasty was 18 months (range: 5 to 49 months). Preoperatively, all cases showed less than 90 degrees knee flexion. At follow up, 12 cases (57.2%) achieved more than 90 degrees flexion, while nine patients (42.8%) exhibited under 90 degrees flexion. Flexion gain was between 60 degrees and 90 degrees in six cases (28.5%) and less than 60 degrees in 15 cases (71.5%). Results were assessed according to Judet et al. There were 14 excellent and good (66.6%) and seven fair (33.3%) results. No poor results were found in this series.