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The acute locked knee is an orthopaedic emergency requiring prompt diagnosis and treatment. It can be classified as acute or chronic. The term 'locked knee' refers to a knee that demonstrates fixed flexion or which has a 'block' to complete extension. Some degree of active or passive extension may be achievable, but not full extension. The most frequent causes of a locked knee are a meniscal tear, rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament or loose bodies. Magnetic resonance imaging is the gold standard in diagnostic imaging. Knee arthroscopy is considered the gold standard in management. This article gives an overview of the presentation, assessment and management of the locked knee for core surgical, acute care common stem and emergency medicine trainees.

Background: Chondral delamination with intact articular surface is an under-recognised entity with no previous reports on how it should be managed. The purpose of this article is to increase awareness of this entity and make recommendations for its management., Methods: We present a small case series of three patients who presented with knee pain and subsequent MRI scans revealed chondral delamination with intact articular surface as the only explanation of symptoms., Results: Two of the lesions were located in the patella and one on the lateral aspect of the medial femoral condyle. All three were treated with bioabsorbable pin fixation. The delaminated area was easily recognised at arthroscopy by its bogginess on probing. All three patients made an excellent recovery and the lesions healed on MRI., Conclusion: Chondral delamination with intact articular surface is best managed with bioabsorbable pin fixation so that it can be salvaged in order to optimise patient outcomes and avoid deterioration to a full thickness chondral lesion once the articular surface has separated., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)