Tendinitis of the Knee Surgical Treatment
What are the surgical options for tendinitis of the knee?
Surgery is usually reserved for patients whose symptoms persist after conservative management, and therefore, their overall function remains limited. Physical therapy is important for optimizing improvements after surgery. The gold standard treatment is arthroscopic debridement, removal of the diseased part of the patellar tendon, and bone drilling to stimulate a healing response. In some cases, a tendon repair, reconstruction, or augmentation with a graft is required if the tissue quality of the native tendon is compromised.
How long is the recovery after surgery for tendinitis of the knee?
Return to play rates following surgery for tendinitis of the knee are high, but the timeline is variable. The range for return to sport following surgery for chronic tendinitis of the knee is 3-12 months.
At a Glance
Dr. Jorge Chahla
- Triple fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeon
- Performs over 700 surgeries per year
- Assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Rush University
- Learn more