This study looked at where the patellar attachment healing actually occurs after surgery for patients who have patella alta or high patellas. We assessed on MRI where the attachment site of the distal aspect of the patellar tendon attached and found that it healed closer to the knee joint, which is exactly what we were hoping for.
Reducing the effective length of the tendon means that there is less excursion of the patella and hopefully this results in greater stability.
Read more in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine: Decreased Effective Patellar Tendon Length following Distalization Tibial Tubercle Osteotomy without Patellar Tendon Tenodesis
Image source: Wikimedia Commons: PatellaAlta XRay B.png