Pseudoaneurysm after total knee arthroplasty: imaging findings in 7 patients

Anterior tibial artery pseudoaneurysm secondary to articulating spacer use for infected knee arthroplasty: A case report

INTRODUCTION

Neurovascular compromise following primary or revision total knee arthroplasty is a rare but severe complication. To the best of our knowledge, there have been reports of pseudoaneurysm of the popliteal artery following primary and revision; however, an anterior tibial artery pseudoaneurysm with articulating spacer has not been described yet.

CASE PRESENTATION

We introduce a rare case of anterior tibial artery pseudoaneurysm and concomitant foot drop caused by an articulating spacer in a two-stage revision for infected knee replacement. Displacement of the articular spacer was observed on knee x-rays. Hematoma and pseudoaneurysm were detected. The patient was operated on urgently, and a pseudoaneurysm originating from the anterior tibial artery was intraoperatively observed.

DISCUSSION

Vascular complications following TKA are rare but could be limb-threatening and even life-threatening. If postoperative displacement of the articulating spacer is observed with neurovascular symptoms, orthopedic surgeons should be alerted to the possibility of a pseudoaneurysm.

CONCLUSION

Although rare, anterior tibial artery pseudoaneurysm should be considered among vascular injuries in revision knee arthroplasty cases.

A Pseudoaneurysm of the Inferior Lateral Geniculate Artery Following Total Knee Arthroplasty

Vascular complications after total knee arthroplasty are rare. We present a case of an inferior lateral geniculate artery pseudoaneurysm which became symptomatic 10 days after total knee arthroplasty in a patient with a cardiac comorbidity and using dabigatran. The pseudoaneurysm was most likely caused by iatrogenic injury during surgery. Fourteen days after the index surgery, the patient was seen with a painful but normal post-total knee arthroplasty effused knee, with a maximum flexion angle of 80 degrees. No signs of infection, hemarthrosis, or neurovascular deficit were present. Radiographic imaging included ultrasonography and computed tomography angiography. The pseudoaneurysm was successfully treated with coil embolization. The etiology, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of a geniculate artery pseudoaneurysm are discussed in this case report.

Pseudoaneurysm of the Popliteal Artery After (Revision) Knee Arthroplasty

Pseudoaneurysm of the popliteal artery is a rare complication of total knee arthroplasty (TKA), with a reported incidence of 0.0095% to 0.088%. We describe the case of a 66-year-old female who underwent conversion of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (2014) to a TKA because of instability symptoms. A pseudoaneurysm of the popliteal artery was found postoperatively on ultrasound performed because of persistent symptoms of pain and tightness of her calf and hypesthesia of digits 3 to 5. She was treated endovascularly with placement of a covered stent. At the most recent follow-up (8 months after surgery), the complaints of hypesthesia persist. A pseudoaneurysm of the popliteal artery is a rare, yet well-described, complication of TKA often found coincidentally on Duplex ultrasound usually performed to rule out a deep venous thrombosis. Prompt diagnosis is of great importance given the potential to developing compartment syndrome or irreversible neurological deficits.

Prevalence and characteristics of the aberrant anterior tibial artery: a single-center magnetic resonance imaging study and scoping review

Background

Planning surgical procedures of the lower leg benefits from considering the possibility of an aberrant anterior tibial artery (AATA), but previously published data on the frequency of this anatomic variant shows heterogeneity. We assessed the prevalence of AATA in a Latin American cohort using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and compared these with other studies reported in the literature.

Methods

We retrospectively included consecutive patients who had undergone multiplanar knee MRI at a radiology department in Lima, Peru. The MRI protocol included coronal T1 weighted, axial, sagittal and coronal proton density fat-saturated (PDFS) and sagittal T2 weighted images.

Two experienced radiologists assessed all images and were blinded to each other’s findings. The frequency of the AATA was compared to previous cohorts. A scoping review was undertaken to provide an overview of previously published data on the prevalence of ATAA.

Results

We analyzed 280 knee MRI examinations of 253 patients (median age 41 years (IQR 31–52), 53.8% male). The aberrant anterior tibial artery variant was present in 8 of 280 (2.9%) evaluated knees, resulting in a prevalence of 3.2% in our study population. The PDFS sequence in the axial or sagittal orientation was most effective to identify AATA. The frequency of AATA in the reviewed literature using different radiological modalities ranged from 0.4 to 6% (median 1%, IQR (0.5–2.3%).

Conclusions

The AATA is a frequent vascular variant that can be detected by MRI in the preparation of invasive interventions of the lower leg.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12891-021-04801-9.