Ski- and snowboard related open peroneal nerve injury: A 20-year retrospective case series study

Introduction

Traumatic peroneal nerve injury (PNI) caused by ski or snowboard edges is a severe but scarcely reported accident.

Methods

In a 20-year retrospective study, all skiers and snowboarders with this injury treated surgically at the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria, were included, covering a period from 1999/2000 to 2018/2019.

Results

In total, 34 patients were included in this study (30 males (88.2%) and 4 (11.8%) females). Of these 34 injured skiers or snowboarders, 33 (97.1%) were recreational athletes and Non-Austrian citizens, and 21 (61.8%) patients sustained accidental injuries without collision. All of the injuries under investigation, i.e., open lacerations, most often with complete transection, were the patients’ main injuries. Surgery was performed with direct coaptation in 24 patients (70.6%), and with a suralis nerve graft in the other 10 patients (29.4%).

Conclusion

Traumatic laceration of the peroneal nerve at the knee level by sharp ski or snowboard edges is a rare but severe injury. Causes for this injury may be multifactorial. Recommendations to reduce the risk of such an injury may follow general instructions and warnings to skiers and snowboarders regarding equipment, familiarity with the region, as well as appropriate skills and training.

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In accidents of skiers and snowboarders traumatic laceration of the peroneal nerve is a severe, but rare injury.

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This injury type is rarely reported.

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The injuries are caused by the sharp edges of modern skies or snowboards and require urgent microsurgical intervention.

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Our 20 years study shows that this injury type primarily affects recreational athletes and guest skiers.

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Current equipment, e.g. ski trousers do not protect the affected region on the lateral side of the knee.

Surgical Treatment of Complete Foot Drop: Partial Tibial Nerve Transfer to the Motor Branch of the Tibialis Anterior: 2-Dimensional Operative Video

This video will be demonstrating the surgical treatment of complete foot drop with partial tibial nerve transfer to the motor branch of the tibialis anterior. Foot drop occurs when there is injury to the deep peroneal nerve that results in the paralysis of the tibialis anterior muscle and subsequent loss of ankle dorsiflexion.1-5 The patient who is the subject of this video is a 27-yr-old female with a 6-mo history of foot drop. She presented with complete loss of ankle dorsiflexion and great toe extension due to traumatic fall on her left knee while running. Upon physical examination, she had all the features of complete foot drop with loss of ankle dorsiflexion and ankle eversion. She also had decreased sensation to light touch over left dorsal foot, left great toe, and left lateral lower leg. The patient has consented to this procedure. The partial tibial nerve transfer to the motor branch of tibialis anterior muscle is the preferred treatment option for foot drop as it restores ankle dorsiflexion with minimal donor site complications. At 12 mo postsurgery, she has regained 4/5 for ankle dorsiflexion on motor testing compared to the 0/5 she had preoperatively.

Iatrogenic nerve lesion following laparoscopic surgery. A case report

BACKGROUND

Peripheral neuropathy after surgical treatment is an under recognized potential untoward event. Pelvic surgery may be associated with nerve lesions by essentially three main mechanisms: transection, entrapment and pressure-stretching; the latter is the modality most frequently linked to patient's positioning on the operating room table.

PRESENTATION OF THE CASE

A 25 years old woman, after undergoing a laparoscopic gynaecologic procedure lasted >3 hours, on postoperative day one presented with numbness over her lateral right leg and dorsum of the foot, right foot drop and gait instability due to compression-stretching of the right superficial peroneal nerve.

DISCUSSION

Patient's diagnostic work up, treatment and outcome are reported and measures on how to prevent the occurrence of such type of lesion are outlined together with the importance of an early postoperative diagnosis in order to avoid permanent nerve damage.

CONCLUSION

Such lesions are sometimes so unexpected that delayed diagnosis leads to damages which are difficult or impossible to repair. Primary prevention plays a key role and it is realized by adhering to specific protocols. In the occurrence of the lesion a prompt diagnosis is highly recommendable and a comprehensive therapeutic plan is necessary to correctly address the specific pathology.

Infliximab-Associated Chronic Inflammatory Central Nervous System Disease and Peroneal Nerve Injury in a Psoriatic Patient Refractory to Treatment: Case Report with 10-Year Follow-Up

The tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) antagonists infliximab, adalimumab, and etanercept have been approved for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis. Manifestations of demyelinating disease have been reported for patients receiving TNF-α antagonists. We describe a rare manifestation of a chronic inflammatory process affecting both the central and peripheral nervous system in a patient who received infliximab for the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Infliximab therapy was discontinued and symptoms improved under high-dose intravenous glucocorticoid pulse therapy.

Proximal tibiofibular joint pain versus peroneal nerve dysfunction: clinical results of closed-wedge high tibial osteotomy performed with proximal tibiofibular joint disruption

PURPOSE

Closed-wedge high tibial osteotomy (CW-HTO) requires shortening of the fibula or the fibular head or disruption of the proximal tibiofibular joint (PTFJ). However, no study has evaluated the proximal tibiofibular joint after the osteotomy. The aim of this study was to investigate the fate of the PTFJ after CW-HTO applied with using PTFJ disruption method.

METHODS

This prospective study included 22 knees of 20 patients who underwent CW-HTO. The mean age of the patients was 50 ± 4 years, and the mean follow-up period was 27.5 ± 14.3 months (12-46 months). The grade of gonarthrosis (Ahlbäck's classification), tibiofemoral alignment and tibial slope angles were measured on radiographs pre- and post-operatively. During the surgery, the PTFJ capsule was released meticulously so as not to injure the peroneal nerve. Tenderness over the PTFJ was recorded preoperatively and at the last follow-up.

RESULTS

No patient had tenderness or pain over PTFJ preoperatively. On the follow-up examinations, tenderness with compression was detected in nine knees with dorsiflexion, in ten with plantar flexion and in nine with neutral position of the ankle, respectively. None of the patients had peroneal nerve injury (including hypesthesia and mild weakness) post-operatively. However, while 11 knees were pain free in all positions of the ankle, seven knees had tenderness over PTFJ both in dorsiflexion and in plantar flexion.

CONCLUSION

CW-HTO using PTFJ disruption provides good clinical results in terms of medial knee pain and corrects the alignment sufficiently while avoiding peroneal nerve injury. However, the results of this study indicated that this technique might result in painful PTFJs. Thus, the surgeon should consider a possibly painful PTFJ, which can be a cause of chronic lateral knee pain when performing this technique.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

III.

[Peroneal nerve injury: anesthesia is not always to blame]

We introduce a case report of a woman that was operated of foot surgery under locoregional anesthesia with an echo-guided peripheral sciatic-popliteal nerve block. As post operatory complication a peroneal nerve injury was noticed. We revised differential diagnosis of peripheral nerve block and therapeutic strategy we should take. In our case the finding was a high degree axonotmesis secondary to extrinsic compressure due to pneumatic tourniquet placed in the ankle used during surgery. There was no relationship with the anesthetic technique.