Venous air embolism during knee arthrography. A case report.

A 34-year-old man developed a nonfatal venous air embolism during arthrography of his post-traumatically contractured knee joint. From the arthrographic findings, injected air was assumed to have entered the great saphenous vein via the venous opening in the knee joint. Venous air embolism is an extremely rare complication of knee arthrography, but can occur. As it is potentially fatal, prompt recognition and appropriate positional and supportive therapy are essential.