The Knee and Related Structures. Injuries, Deformities, Diseases, Disabilities

Popliteal Cysts and Their Relation to the Gastrocnemio-Semimembranosus Bursa: Studies on the Surgical and Functional Anatomy

“…He stated, however, that the opening was very wide when the knee was extended and that on flexion of the knee there was only a narrow slit. Several authors, including Brosicke (1899), Bardeleben-Haeckel (1901), Fick (1904), Merkel (1907), Sonntag (1916-17) and Lewin (1952), have since agreed with this view.…”

“…Though the current opinion today tends towards the view that popliteal cysts develop from distension of a communicating knee bursa (Wilson et al 1938, Morscher 1957, Hoffman 1963, Gristina & Wilson 1964, Bryan et al 1967, Perri et al 1968, Goldstein & Dickerson 1974, Smillie 1974, the concept of a hernial origin still widely prevails (Cravener 1932, Haggart 1938, Edmunds & Hebble 1939, Meyerding & van Demark 1943, Kuhn & Hemphill 1944, Sachs & Rubinstein 1946, Wiles 1949, Lewin 1952, Kirpila & Ripatti 1958, Beatty 1959, Colombo 1965, Wieser et al 1967, Solomon & Berman 1972, Pinder 1973, Aegerter & Kirkpatrick 1975.…”

“…Descriptions of the surgical anatomy are unspecific about the location and shape of the communication with the joint, as well as about the topographic relationship to adjacent anatomical structures, and opinions are greatly divided concerning the optimum surgical approach for exposure of the opening (Holmes 1870, Billroth 1876, Fullerton 1916, Davis 1918, Piersol 1919, Clark 1949, Wiles 1949, Anson & Maddock 1952, Lewin 1952, Apley 1968, Aegerter & Kirkpatrick 1975.…”

“…In the literature numerous accounts bear witness to the propensity of popliteal cysts to recur following surgical excision (Lewin 1952, Burleson et al 1956, Beatty 1959, Harvey & Corcos 1960, Hoffman 1963, Bryan et al 1967, Hooper & Brookler 1971, Myles 1971, Pinder 1973, Vahvanen 1973, Meire et al 1974, particularly after their removal in children (Malloch 1970, Dinham 1975. In a recent clinical and arthrographic follow-up study Rauschning & Lindgren (1979) found 40 recurrences and 15 postoperative complications following 41 routine operations on such cysts.…”