Surgical outcomes of patients with peroneal nerve injury: a clinical study

Background: Nervus peroneus communis (NPC) is the most frequently entrapped nerve in the lower extremity. Although first-line treatments for peroneal nerve injury include conservative methods, patients who do not show benefit are further treated with surgical decompression. Aim of the study: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical and functional results of patients who were surgically treated for peroneal nerve injury. Material and methods: This retrospective study reports on 20 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for peroneal nerve damage between March 2012 and December 2015. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain scores and neurological examinations were evaluated preoperatively and at the last postoperative visit (mean followup period = 10.2 months). All parameters were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests and results were considered significant using a p<0.05 threshold. Results: According to the British Medical Council Motor Strength Evaluation Scale, 80% (n = 16) of patients showed an improvement and 20% showed no change (n = 4). VAS pain scores significantly decreased (p<0.05) from the preoperative (M ± SD = 5.9 ± 0.4) to the postoperative time point. (1.6 ± 0.3). Conclusions: Our data suggest positive results for surgical removal of reversible causes among peroneal nerve damage cases who do not respond to conservative treatment.