Quick Summary
Peyton was a lifelong dancer born with patella alta — kneecaps that sat too high, transferring stress through her patellar tendon and fat pad instead of the joint. Physical therapy could not resolve it. Dr. Sabrina Strickland performed a tibial tubercle osteotomy with distalization, moving the kneecap downward to offload the tendon. Peyton returned to dance pain-free.
People frequently comment on my videos about how helpful it is to see someone else’s story. This is the story of Peyton, who was a dancer from age four on. Her injury was fairly unusual – she was born with her knee caps too high, so the stress was going through the top of her patellar tendon and her fat pad instead of through her knee cap.
This meant we really had to do an operation to fix it – it wouldn’t heal on its own or with physical therapy. So we did a tibial tubercle osteotomy and I distalized it, moving her kneecap down to take the stress off her patellar tendon and fat pad. She’s done amazingly well, which is really important – but it’s also important for others to see that they don’t have to be in pain and they can get back to doing what they love. For more on the underlying condition, see our overview of patellar instability and the related joint preservation osteotomy service.
Watch Peyton’s story. You can also read Peyton’s full success story with photos and recovery details.
