Be aware of wood in the knee

Summary

The authors report a case of a 7-year-old boy who sustained a penetrating injury of a splinter of wood to the knee. Arthroscopic examination, removal of visualised foreign material and washout did not alleviate the symptoms of pain and swelling in its entirety. Microbiology cultures also failed to determine the cause of the on-going symptoms. Five days later, the patient underwent a mini arthrotomy through a lateral incision, which demonstrated synovitis, and removal of the remaining embedded foreign body from the lateral condyle. Although the authors advocate arthroscopy as the surgeon’s first choice for removal of a foreign body from the knee, a mini-arthrotomy should also be considered to facilitate superior visualisation and easier instrumentation to remove embedded foreign bodies.