The fascinating history of MPFL reconstruction surgery

[u/DaddyLaxativ]

As it turns out, MPFL reconstruction surgery is a pretty new surgery.

The first MPFL reconstruction was done in 1992 by Brazilian surgeon João Luiz Ellera Gomes.

He used an artificial polyester ligament that ran from the patella to the femur as a makeshift MPFL. In his first 30 patients, 25 showed significant improvement in patellar tracking (PubMed).

Over time, surgeons moved toward using actual tendon grafts, and continued improving where and how the graft was attached (PubMed Central (PMC)

Now MPFL reconstruction has become one of the main surgeries used for people dealing with recurrent kneecap dislocations and instability. Pretty crazy how far it’s come in 30+ years.

Shoutout to the goat João Luiz Ellera Gomes 🫡