Common peroneal nerve palsy following operation in the supine position

Abstract

Perioperative peroneal neuropathy is an uncommon complication following surgeries performed with patients positioned supine. It may be caused by various factors aside from intraoperative compression. The authors report a case of common peroneal nerve palsy in a patient who underwent total thyroidectomy with central and bilateral selective neck dissection. The patient's body mass index was 31.3 kg/m2. She was positioned supine and the operative time was 7 h. During surgery, her mean arterial pressure intermittently dropped to 50-60 mmHg for 55 min and 61-70 mmHg for 195 min. She developed common peroneal nerve palsy on postoperative day 1. Nevertheless, the patient fully recovered without any complications within 3 weeks.