Introduction:

The literature recognizes the low prevalence of knee dislocation. Increased exposure to high-energy trauma, changes in automotive design, and spontaneously reduced dislocation have contributed to the increased incidence of these injuries.

Objective:

To describe the clinical and diagnostic characteristics of knee dislocation and vascular injury in orthopedic trauma in patients treated at a tertiary care institution.

Methods:

A retrospective descriptive observational study was carried out in five cases of knee dislocation and vascular injury in orthopedic trauma. A non-probabilistic sampling of consecutive cases was done. The information was collected from the medical records and analyzed using Microsoft Excel program. Absolute and relative frequencies, minimum and maximum values were estimated.

Results:

Three patients were male. The minimum age was 19 and the maximum was 59. The dislocation and vascular injury occurred in the left lower limb, associated with trauma from a traffic accident. The pedis and posterior tibial pulses were abnormal. In all cases, the popliteal artery was injured and computed tomography angiography was performed within eight hours of the trauma.

Conclusions:

Vascular injury associated with knee dislocation is common, along with involvement of the popliteal artery, due to their anatomical relationships. Studies with more patients are required to better characterize this population.

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