Traumatic, Old, and Unreduced Bilateral Knee Dislocation: A Case Study and Literature Review

Abstract

Background: Old unreduced knee dislocation is rare, which means the experience is still lacking about the best treatment options. Moreover, several surgical options for this condition are still lacking in peer-reviewed research. This is a case report of the treatment of a patient who had bilateral traumatic knee dislocations that were unreduced two months after injury.

Case Presentation: A 45-year-old man with bilateral traumatic unreduced knee dislocation came 2 months after injury. He had no active knee extension and was unable to walk. He underwent open reduction and external fixation. He had good range of motion (ROM) and painless walking in short term. After 5 years, he had acceptable ROM and painless walking, but x-rays showed persistent posterior subluxation of the left knee and some bone loss of the right tibia.

Conclusions: Open reduction, repair of torn ligaments, and external fixation was an effective treatment in regaining ROM and stability in a patient who had bilateral unreduced knee dislocations of two months duration. After five years, the patient had a satisfactory function, but radiographs showed persistent posterior subluxation of one knee and some bone loss of the tibia in the other.