Bilateral floating knee: A rare case report

Abstract

Ipsilateral fractures of the femur and tibia have been called “floating knee” injuries and may include combinations of diaphyseal, metaphyseal, and intra-articular fractures. These are often high-energy injuries and most frequently occur in the polytrauma patient. Many of these fractures are open, with associated vascular injuries. Surgical stabilization of both fractures and early mobilization of the patient and the extremity produce the best clinical outcomes. This rare case report is of 43-year-old female from an urban setup in Chennai who underwent an Road Traffic Accident (RTA) and sustained injuries that lead to a bilateral floating knee. She was initially managed as per principles of damage control orthopedics and stabilized with knee spanning external fixators on either side. On further stabilization of the patient, bilateral definitive fixation was done in a staged manner. The patient finally regained full functional range of motions on either limb and was completely rehabilitated within 3 months.