Painful Patellar Partita Complicated with Intraarticular Ganglion

Painful patellar partita complicated with intraarticular ganglion cysts arising from the cruciate ligament is difficult to diagnose from the symptoms alone. In the patient reported here, knee pain was caused by patellar partita and by cysts attached anteriorly to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The fragment of the bipartite patella was excised, and the cysts were resected arthroscopically in a piecemeal fashion. Knee pain and limitation of motion both resolved after surgery. We hypothesize that the pain and restricted range of motion were caused by both the bipartite patella and impingement of the ganglion cysts between the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and PCL. In particular, sudden onset of vague pain in this patient was likely to be due to impingement of the ganglion cyst between the ACL and PCL.