foot drop
DESCRIPTION
FOOT DROP PPTTRANSCRIPT
Case study
Sunil 23 yrs male
h/o trauma to his rt knee 1 yr back Work site injury Trauma with heavy cutting machine Rushed to hospital with in 1 hour Mild contamination of wound present Difficulty in using the limb from very
beginning on wards
Surgical intervention with in 6 hours of the injury
Post op immobilized on pop Moderate wound infection post op Discharged after 2 weeks Pop removed after 6 weeks After that on AFO
Wounds fully heald Parasthesia of antero lateral aspect of foot
and leg Mild improvement in sensory symtoms but
not much improvement in power of the leg
No history of diabetes mellitus, skin diseases or any history suggestive of immuno supressed status
Patients history does not give any points in favour of long bone fractures
Local examination[knee,foot,ankle and leg]
Gait –high stepping Foot drop present Wasting of leg muscles Trophic changes of the skin and nails
Heald surgical scar on the lateral aspect of knee exending about 3 cm above the upper pole of patellae to about 5cm below the head of fibula
On palpation scar is not adhered to the deeper tissue
Fibula head –mild thickening present Other bony areas palpated normally
No abnormal thickenings of the peroneal nerve at the fibular neck level
Tinnel sign postive 5cm below the fibular head Passive movements of the knee and ankle are of full
range Active dorsiflexion and eversion of the foot is absent No limb length discrepansy No knee joint instability
B/l hip, b/l knee, opposite foot and ankle ,spine all with in normal limits
No abnormal thickening of nerves palpated any where in the body
Neurology
Tone-decreased Bulk- decreased[3cm wasting] Power-TA,EDL,EHL,PERONEI,-GRADE 0 or
grade 1 DTR-Knee present,ankle absent Sensory blunting over the anero latral aspect
of foot and leg Sensory bluntig over the first web space also
Blood investigations with in normal limits NCS-severe proneal nerve injury below the
neck of fibula No evoked response of the anterior and
lateral muscle groups on stimulation Faradic stimulation produce no response Galvanic stimulation –twitching of the muscle
groups present
Diagnosis ???
Foot drop
Anatomy of sciatic nerve
Thickest nerve on the body Root value L4,5S123 Thru gret sciatic notch –middle thigh divide to
common peroneal and tibial part- Cpn –lateral angle of the popliteal fosae-neck
of th efibula-superficial and deep part Superficial-pronei muscles and skin over the
antero lateral front of leg dorsum of the foot
Deep-anterior compartment muscles,--medial and lateral terminal branch
Medial -1st web space Lateral-end as a ganglion after supplying Ext
dig brevis and 2nd dorsal interossei
Tibial part –posterior compartment,cutaneous distribution of the entire sole of the foot
Causes of foot drop
General –leprosy Local –spine-bifida,tumrs,disc prolapse Hip –posterior dislocation ,# around hip,#of
acetabulam,THR[.5 to 3%]` Gluteal region-IM injections Thigh -#sof,penetrating and gun shot injury
Knee –forcible inversion of the knee Dislocation of the knee # lateral condyle of tibia Dislocation of superior tibiofibular joint Tight plaster around the knee Poor padding during traction UT skeletal traction Tumours and cysts Direct injury-gun shot,incised or penetrating
High lesion
Both tibial and C P N paralysed
Low lesion
Complete or incoplete Complete-anterolaterl muscles of the leg
sensory loss including first web space Incomplete-pronei are paralysed sensory
loss of outer leg and foot OR vice versa
Discussion !!!!!!
Nerve repair
End to end repair Autologous interfascicular nerve grafting –
Ideal• Mobilization and end to end neuroraphy even
up to 12cm gap is possible
splintage -knee in 20* flexion,ankle in 90*for night time
Day time –foot drop apliances=-dynamic[spring shoe]static[back stop shoe]
Great care should be given to avoid injuries to the insensitive skin and to prevent trophic ulcers
-
.>1 year—established foot drop
Complete foot drop-OBER/BARR PROCEDURE
Incomplete –[commonest] loss of dorsiflexors and presence of evertors---combined tib poster and pero brevis anerior transposition
Other surgeries may be used
Tendo achillis lengthening –fixed equinus Sub talar stabilization-fixed varus Triple arthrodesis –fixed varus at sub talar
joint Amputation may be prefered to a flail
deformed insensitive skin
Points to be remembered
CPN-most vulnerable nerve for traction stress
Between two bony points –fibula and pelvis-no soft tissue structures effectively protect the nenve from traction
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After repair long leg cast is not enough Line of sutures often seprtate unless a spica
cast is given Motor recovery is far more important than
sensory recovery bcos the autonomous zone on dorsum of foot is very small
Even in very ideal setups recovery is only up to 60 to 70 %
A 2nd operation to resuture the nerve after initial failure to obtain motor recovery is rarely indicated
Useful motor function in the personal nerd is not to be expected when suture has been delayed 12 months after the initial surgery`
Your contributions!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to all
Dr Mthew K M