[Arterial complications of arthroscopic meniscectomies. Apropos of three cases]

The authors report three exceptional cases of vascular lesions occurring during arthroscopic meniscectomies involving the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus. These lesions consisted of false aneurysms of the popliteal artery detected early (1 month) or later (5 months and 3 years) after the procedure, one of which formed a fistula with the accompanying vein. This later case resulted in intermittent claudication of the calf and the other two cases presented with painful flexion deformity of the knee. In the case diagnosed after 1 month, the false aneurysm arose from a punctate injury to the artery and was treated by direct arterial suture. In the other two cases, treatment consisted of excision of the false aneurysm and restoration of arterial continuity by an autologous saphenous vein graft. The quality of the clinical result was confirmed angiographically in all three cases. The anatomy predisposes to this complication which can be avoided by respecting a few simple precautions. The surgeon must be avoided by respecting a few simple precautions. The surgeon must be aware of and look for signs of this complication in order to allow early diagnosis.