Popliteal Artery Occlusion in Total Hip Arthroplasty - A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Vascular injury is a serious but rare complication of hip arthroplasty procedures. Most of vascular complications reported in the literature occurred in the vessels around hip joint and femoral artery. To date, no report on popliteal artery’ occlusion during or after total hip arthroplasty has been published. The present authors have observed one case of popliteal artery occlusion after total hip arthroplasty. We suspect that the cause of this occlusion was an excessive maneuvering of limb during operation and, subsequently atheromatous plaque fracture induced thrombosis in popliteal artery. An angiographic embolectomy was performed using a catheter, and circulation of the limb recovered. In order to reduce the risk of vascular complications in the total hip arthroplasty procedure, we recommend a thorough evaluation of lower extremity circulation in risky patients. When a vascular insult is suspected either during or soon after the procedure, a vascular consultation with arteriography including popliteal artery should be obtained urgently. A delayed treatment could result in a deleterious outcome.