Two cases of irreducible knee dislocation occurring simultaneously in two patients and a review of the literature.

Knee dislocations normally respond to closed reduction; however, a small percentage must be reduced by open operations. A 24-year-old man exhibited typical medial joint-line puckering during repeated reduction attempts and a mild lateral displacement on roentgenograms. A 31-year-old woman had a complete dislocation of her knee, with the femur "buttonholed" through medial soft tissue and entrapped by the joint capsule. Longitudinal incision of the medial joint capsule was the method of reduction. The lateral collateral ligament and both lateral and medial menisci were intact in both cases. However, the medial collateral ligament and the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments were avulsed from the femur and required fixation.