Injury to the popliteal artery and its anatomic location in total knee arthroplasty

Severe vascular complications and intervention following elective total hip and knee replacement: A 16-year retrospective analysis

“…Ninomiya et al suggested that the risk of injury to the popliteal artery may be minimised if posterior retractors are placed medial to the midline of the tibial plateau and if care is taken to avoid extremes of both flexion and extension. 12 The lateral inferior geniculate artery arises from the popliteal artery under the cover of the origin of the lateral gastrocnemius muscle and winds close to the lateral meniscus with nothing intervening except the popliteal tendon. It is possible to damage this artery at the time of excision of the lateral meniscus or by overzealous retraction whilst protecting the lateral structures.…”

Position of the popliteal artery in revision total knee arthroplasty

“…It was also noted that when the knee is placed in a flexed position, the artery falls posteriorly, thereby allowing some measure of protection from direct injury [9].…”

Evaluation of Popliteal Artery Injury Risk With Locked Lateral Plating of the Tibial Plateau

“…9 There have been many studies that have evaluated the proximity of the popliteal artery with varying degrees of knee flexion. 10,11 To minimize this effect, our specimen knees were kept at approximately 30°of The amount of medial to posterior screw tip position change is recorded under each position in millimeters with whether or not the artery was injured in that position. AT, anterior; LO, liftoff.…”