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• Lateral epicondylitis, also known as ‘tennis elbow’, is a very common condition affecting mainly middle-aged patients.

• The pathogenesis remains unknown but there appears to be a combination of local tendon pathology, alteration in pain perception and motor impairment.

• The diagnosis is usually clinical but some patients may benefit from additional imaging for a specific differential diagnosis.

• The disease has a self-limiting course of between 12 and 18 months, but in some patients, symptoms can be persistent and refractory to treatment.

• Most patients are well-managed with non-operative treatment and activity modification. Many surgical techniques have been proposed for patients with refractory symptoms.

• New non-operative treatment alternatives with promising results have been developed in recent years.

Cite this article: Vaquero-Picado A, Barco R, Antuña SA. Lateral epicondylitis of the elbow. EFORT Open Rev 2016;1:391-397. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.000049.

• With an incidence of 5.8 per 100,000 per year, patellar dislocations are commonly seen in the emergency department. Surprisingly, there are only a few studies available that focus on the results of the different non-surgical treatment options after first-time patellar dislocation. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the most recent and relevant studies on the rationales and results of the non-surgical treatment for first-time patellar dislocation.

• Patellar instability mainly affects young and active patients, with a peak incidence of 29 per 100 000 per year in adolescents. The medial patellofemoral ligament, a main passive restraint for lateral translation of the patella, is torn in lateral patellofemoral dislocations. Treatment of first-time patellar dislocation can be either conservative or surgical.

• There are two options in conservative management of first-time patellar dislocation: immobilization using a cylinder cast or removable splint, or, second, functional mobilization after applying a brace or patellar tape.

• The current available literature of conservative treatment after a first-time patellar dislocation is little and of low quality of evidence. Conclusions should be drawn with care, new research focussing on non-surgical treatment is therefore strongly needed.

Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2019;4:110-114. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.4.180016

• Ankle fractures are common in children, and they have specific implications in that patient population due to frequent involvement of the physis in a bone that has growth potential and unique biomechanical properties.

• Characteristic patterns are typically evident in relation to the state of osseous development of the segment, and to an extent these are age-dependent.

• In a specific type known as transitional fractures – which occur in children who are progressing to a mature skeleton –a partial physeal closure is evident, which produces multiplanar fracture patterns.

• Computed tomography should be routine in injuries with joint involvement, both to assess the level of displacement and to facilitate informed surgical planning.

• The therapeutic objectives should be to achieve an adequate functional axis of the ankle without articular gaps, and to protect the physis in order to avoid growth alterations.

• Conservative management can be utilized for non-displaced fractures in conjunction with strict radiological monitoring, but surgery should be considered for fractures involving substantial physeal or joint displacement, in order to achieve the therapeutic goals.

Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2021;6:593-606. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.6.200042

• Patellar instabilities are the most common knee pathologies during growth. Congenital dislocations are rare. Extensive, early soft tissue releases relocate the extensor mechanism and may enable normal development of the femoro-patellar anatomy.

• Conservative management is the preferred strategy after a ‘first-time’ traumatic dislocation. In cases with concomitant anatomical predisposing factors such as trochlear dysplasia, malalignment, malrotation or ligamentous laxity, surgical reconstruction must be considered. The same applies to recurrent dislocations with pain, a sense of instability or re-dislocations which may also lead to functional compensatory mechanisms (quadriceps-avoiding gait in knee extension) or cartilaginous lesions with subsequent patello-femoral osteoarthritis. The decision-making process guiding surgical re-alignment includes analysis with standard radiographs and MRI of the trochlear groove, joint cartilage and medial patello-femoral ligament (MPFL). Careful evaluation of dynamic and static stabilisers is essential: the medial patello-femoral ligament provides stability during the first 20° of flexion, and the trochlear groove thereafter.

• Excessive femoral anteversion, general ligamentous laxity with increased femoro-tibial rotation, patella alta and increased distance between the tibial tuberosity and the trochlear groove must also be taken into account and surgically corrected.

• In cases with ongoing dislocations during skeletal immaturity, soft tissue procedures must suffice: reconstruction of the medial patello-femoral ligament as a standalone procedure or in conjuction with more complex distal realignment of the quadriceps mechanism may lead to a permanent stable result, or at least buys time until a definitive bony procedure is performed.

Cite this article: Hasler CC, Studer D. Patella instability in children and adolescents. EFORT Open Rev 2016;1:160-166. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.000018.