The Irreducible Knee Dislocation

Irreducible knee dislocations are a small subset of acute knee dislocations and are extremely rare. The most common type of irreducible knee dislocation is posterolateral, which can be challenging to diagnose both clinically and on plain radiographs. Vascular injury is uncommon and closed reduction is seldom possible due to medial femoral condyle buttonholing through soft tissues requiring open or arthroscopic reduction. Ligament injuries mostly include medial collateral ligament, anterior cruciate ligament, and posterior cruciate ligament. Literature has numerous case reports with a couple of small series giving short- to mid-term outcomes of posterolateral knee dislocations. There is, however, no consensus on management of ligament injuries with case reports showing good outcomes in early or delayed ligament reconstruction. This article sheds light on previous case reports and describes how to identify irreducible knee dislocations and provides an algorithm on how to manage ligament injuries in posterolateral dislocations.