Quantitative anatomy of medial femoral perforators of the distal thigh.

The purpose of the study was to quantitatively examine the anatomical organization of medial femoral perforators. Mini-incision approaches to total knee arthroplasty are being used more often; however, no studies have examined the quantitative anatomy of perforating vessels into the distal intermuscular septum. Fourteen embalmed cadaveric knees were dissected to identify where vascular perforators pierced the medial intermuscular septum. Quantitative measurements were made from the perforators to the medial epicondyle of the femur. The mean measurements from the medial epicondyle to each of the vascular perforators were 7.1, 10.5, and 13.5 cm. The closest perforator to the medial epicondyle was found at a distance of 5.5 cm. During mini-incision approaches to the knee, vascular perforators are at potential risk of injury when dissection proceeds 5 cm proximal to the medial epicondyle.