Case report of a successful closed reduction without anesthesia.

Intraarticular dislocation of the patella is a rare clinical entity. Horizontal dislocation occurs when the patella rotates 90 degrees about its horizontal axis. Of the 33 previously reported cases, only six have been successfully reduced by closed manipulation. Furthermore, all previously successful closed reductions have required general anesthesia to accomplish the reduction. Intraarticular dislocation of the patella in a 24-year-old man was successfully reduced in a closed fashion without anesthesia.