Operating Room Fire During Total Knee Arthroplasty Tibial Impaction: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

A fire in the operating room is a rare but potentially deadly occurrence. We present an operating room fire during an elective total knee arthroplasty with an unclear ignition source. Flames were visualized originating from the excess bone cement while impacting the tibial component. The electrocautery device was not in use during impaction and was in a plastic sheath at the head of the bed. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an operating room fire involving bone cement not caused by an electrocautery device.