Fast Five Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Foot Drop?

For sharp laceration with suspected nerve transection, early repair is warranted. Blunt lacerations are repaired 2-4 weeks after injury. Lesions in continuity usually are monitored for several months by clinical examination and electromyography for signs of early regeneration. If spontaneous regeneration does not occur, surgical exploration and intraoperative nerve action potential recordings are used to determine the need for repair, either with end-to-end sutures or with nerve grafts.

Patients with peroneal nerve palsy after knee arthroplasty or tibial osteotomy should initially be treated by removing all constrictive dressings and repositioning the knee to 20°-30° of flexion. If an expanding hematoma is noted, urgent exploration is warranted. If functional recovery does not occur within 2 months, nerve exploration or release is advocated. The time interval between symptom onset and decompression appears to affect the final functional outcome. However, the severity of the preoperative palsy does not seem to affect recovery.

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Cite this: Craig C. Young, James W. Pritchett. Fast Five Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Foot Drop? - Medscape - Jul 07, 2015.