Umberto I Hospital performs rare knee extensor transplant

Surgeons at the Umberto I Hospital in Enna, Sicily, have successfully performed a rare complete transplant of a knee's extensor apparatus. The procedure involved replacing the entire system of bones and tendons that allows a patient to extend their leg, a technique performed in very few centers across Italy.

The patient, a woman approximately 80 years old from the province of Nissia, had been unable to walk for over six months following a failed attempt to repair a patellar fracture and a previous knee prosthesis surgery. The transplant, which included the tibial tuberosity, patellar tendon, patella, and quadriceps tendon as a continuous anatomical block, was sourced from the bone bank of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute in Bologna.

The orthopedic team was led by Professor Arcangelo Russo, alongside doctors Gianluca Zocco, Michele Giancani, and Gianluca Costa, with anesthesia managed by Dr. Fabiano Melfa. Following the surgery, the patient has begun physiotherapy under the supervision of Professor Francesco Pegreffi to aid recovery.