Complications Associated with Foot and Ankle Arthroscopy

Anterior Ankle Arthroscopy

“…Anatomic variation or improper positioning of the anterolateral portal has been suggested to be responsible for injury to the anterior tibial artery, including pseudoaneurysm. [38][39][40] In our practice, needle localization and initial saline joint insufflation assist with portal placement and increase safe distance from the overlying neurovascular structures. The anteromedial portal is established first, because this portal has a decreased risk of neurovascular injury.…”

“…52 The deep peroneal, sural, and saphenous nerves are less commonly injured during anterior ankle arthroscopy. In a case series of 260 patients, Deng and colleagues 39 reported the incidence of deep peroneal, sural, and saphenous nerve injury to be 0.77%, 0.38%, and 0.38%, respectively. In establishing the anteromedial portal, others have described a less than 1% incidence of injury to the saphenous nerve.…”

Neurological Complications Related to Elective Orthopedic Surgery

“…Cutaneous nerve injury is relatively common after anterior ankle arthroscopy, with a reported rate of 0% to 8.6% [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] (Table 1). The SPN is the most commonly injured nerve.…”

Ankle Osteoarthritis

“…Review of ankle arthroscopy complications by Deng et al [ 43 ] revealed that the most common complication was cutaneous nerve injury, which involved nine cases (3.46 %), and localized superfi cial infection, which involved eight cases (3.08 %). Injury to the superfi cial peroneal nerve accounted for fi ve of the cutaneous nerve injuries.…”