Knee-Spanning External Fixation for Recurrent Traumatic Anterior Prosthetic Knee Dislocation With Associated Vascular Injury

Traumatic anterior prosthetic knee dislocation after total knee arthroplasty is a rare event. We report the case of an 88-year-old female who presented with right traumatic anterior knee dislocation and concurrent popliteal artery injury requiring an emergent bypass graft. Postoperatively, the patient had redislocated her prosthetic knee, requiring urgent re-reduction and stabilization with an external fixator. We review her case, as well as additional reported cases of anterior knee dislocation. We also review the clinical considerations surrounding arterial injury, vascular bypass, and external fixation as a proposed management in unstable cases refractory to bracing.