Progressive Peroneal Nerve Palsy in a Varus Arthritic Knee

Peroneal nerve injuries have been reported in association with traumatic varus injury of the knee1, traumatic dislocation of the knee2, upper tibial osteotomy3, knee arthroscopy4, and total knee arthroplasty5. To our knowledge, there have been no reports describing a peroneal nerve palsy associated with a varus deformity of the knee due to arthritis. We describe the case of a sixty-three-year-old man who presented with a symptomatic varus arthritic knee and a progressive, profound peroneal nerve palsy. Because this combination of problems has not been discussed in the literature, to our knowledge, the optimal treatment strategy for this patient was not clear. The purpose of this report is to describe this clinical disorder and to outline our treatment strategy. Our patient was informed that data concerning the case would be submitted for publication.