Pathologic Fracture of The Patella Secondary to a Gouty Tophus

Abstract

Gout is a rare cause of patellar fracture, with few documented cases. We report a case of gout tophi in the patella, the severe transverse fracture resulting from minor trauma. The patient was managed by the same treatment principles used for patients with nonpathologic patella fractures. We preformed excising the mass, fixing the bone fragment and filling in bone defect with allograft bone. Union of the fracture was seen at three months follow-up. The patient has recovered completely and returned to his former work after 3 months postoperatively.