Congenital Aplasia of the Patella

Abstract

Congenital absence or marked reduction of the patella may exist in association with other congenital anomalies, most likely the nail-patella syndrome and the ischiopatellar dysplasia or as an isolated entity described in only a few families to date. It may also appear in other orthopaedic malformations, such as the congenital dislocation of the knee. A careful physical examination is essential in the diagnosis of the syndrome, which is mainly clinical. The purpose of this review is to present a range of the clinical syndromes that may be associated with aplasia of the patella, in both children and adults, and to review the related literature.