Bilateral Floating Knee Injuries in an Infant: A Case Report and Literature Review

Meisam Jafari Kafiabadi; Mehrdad Sadighi; Amir Sabaghzadeh; Farsad Biglari; Saber Barazandeh Rad; Adel Ebrahimpour

doi:10.18502/jost.v7i3.8112

Meisam Jafari Kafiabadi Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shohada Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mehrdad Sadighi Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shohada Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Amir Sabaghzadeh Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shohada Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Farsad Biglari Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shohada Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Saber Barazandeh Rad Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shohada Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Adel Ebrahimpour Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery , Clinical Research Development Center, Shohada Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jost.v7i3.8112

Keywords: Bone; Knee Injuries; Pediatric Emergency Medicine; Tibial Fractures

Abstract

Background: Floating knee injury is defined as ipsilateral fractures of the femur and tibia. It was mostly seen among young men and is generally caused by high-velocity trauma such as motor vehicle accidents and falling from height. Although isolated fractures of the femur or tibia are relatively common in children, floating knee injuries are rare in adolescents and even less frequent in younger children.

Case Report: In this study, we reported a case of bilateral floating knee injuries of a 10-month old girl infant. Radiographic examinations revealed diaphyseal fracture of the left femur and proximal metaphyseal fracture of tibia compatible with floating knee injury type B according to the classification proposed by Letts et al. To the best of our knowledge, there was not any previous report of bilateral infantile floating knee injury in the literature.

Conclusion: Pediatric floating knee injuries are relatively uncommon and extremely rare among infants. The preferred method of treatment is a surgical fixation for all fractures of all ages.