Iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm of the popliteal artery following corrective tibial osteotomy

Abstract

Due to its anatomical location the popliteal artery is exposed to injury during surgical procedures in the region of the knee joint, in particular during high-level corrective osteotomies of the proximal tibial epiphysis. Nevertheless, posttraumatic (iatrogenic) pseudoaneurysm constitutes a very rare complication of the procedure. Only few reports of such complication have been published and they were usually connected with lateral tibial osteotomy - the accidents after medial osteotomy are seldom. The complication we report was observed in a 52-year-old female patient after corrective osteotomy of the medial portion of the proximal tibial epiphysis. The complication was diagnosed 7 days after surgery on US-examination and subsequently confirmed by emergently performed angio-CT. The patient was referred for urgent reconstructive surgery. No significant complications were observed, neither postoperatively nor during follow-up visits.