Compartment pressure monitoring during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Complications of surgical reconstruction of multiligament injuries of the knee joint: diagnosis, prevention and treatment

The main complications of surgical reconstruction of multiligament injuries of the knee joint are residual or recurrent instability, arthrofibrosis, popliteal artery injury, common peroneal nerve injury, compartment syndrome, fluid extravasation, symptomatic heterotopic ossification, wound problems and infection, deep venous thrombosis, and revision surgery.

Careful surgical planning and execution of the primary surgical reconstruction of multiligament injuries of the knee joint can minimize the risk of the aforementioned complications.

Careful postoperative follow-up is required to detect complications. Early recognition and prompt treatment are of paramount importance.

To obtain good results in the revision surgery of failed multiligamentary knee reconstructions, it is crucial to perform a thorough and exhaustive evaluation to detect all the causes of failure.

Addressing all associated injuries during revision surgery will lead to the best possible subjective and objective results, although functional outcomes are often modest.

However, advanced age and high-energy injuries have been associated with the poorest functional outcomes after revision surgery of failed multiligament injuries of the knee joint.

Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2021;6:973-981. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.6.210057

Regional anesthesia and acute compartment syndrome: principles for practice

Acute compartment syndrome (ACS) is a potentially reversible orthopedic surgical emergency leading to tissue ischemia and ultimately cell death. Diagnosis of ACS can be challenging, as neither clinical symptoms nor signs are sufficiently sensitive. The cardinal symptom associated with ACS is pain reported in excess of what would otherwise be expected for the underlying injury, and not reasonably managed by opioid-based analgesia. Regional anesthesia (RA) techniques are traditionally discouraged in clinical settings where the development of ACS is a concern as sensory and motor nerve blockade may mask symptoms and signs of ACS. This Education article addresses the most common trauma and elective orthopedic surgical procedures in adults with a view towards assessing their respective risk of ACS and offering suggestions regarding the suitability of RA for each type of surgery.

Knee MLI Injuries: Common Problems and Solutions

The multiple ligament injured knee presents a challenge with regard to management and treatment. Immediate management of the acute injury requires special attention and thorough examination because knee dislocations have been associated with significant complications. Treatment options range from closed reduction and immobilization to surgical repair and/or reconstruction of the injured ligaments. This article focuses on complications that may result from surgical treatments of the multiple ligament injured knee and ways of prevention. These complications include vascular and neurologic complications, venous thromboembolic events, arthrofibrosis, compartment syndrome, wound problems, heterotopic ossification, fractures and avascular necrosis, tunnels positioning complications, and malalignment.

Complications in the Treatment of Medial and Lateral Sided Injuries of the Knee Joint

Complications may result from nonoperative and surgical management of medial or lateral sided knee injuries. Because these injuries are often associated with injury to the medial or lateral meniscus and the anterior or posterior cruciate ligaments (ACL and PCL, respectively), injury to these structures will also be considered. We group these complications in 3 categories: (1) complications associated with either operative or nonoperative management, (2) intraoperative complications, and (3) postoperative complications. Greater understanding of complications of medial and lateral knee ligament injuries may result in improved clinical outcomes.