Popliteal lesion due to traction during unicompartmental knee revision surgery

Popliteal artery injury is a rare but known complication in knee surgery. Only one article in current literature reports that the risk increases during revision knee surgery. A new case is described in which an injury to the popliteal artery occurred during lateral unicompartmental to total knee arthroplasty revision surgery. This vascular injury occurred 5-10 cm below the tibial resection level in a healthy patient with a history of cruris fracture with plate osteosynthesis and lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. This paper stresses the importance of being aware that trauma and surgery can create fibrosis in which the popliteal artery can get fixated, thus reducing the scope for safe manipulation of the knee during secondary surgery.