Traction injury of common peroneal nerve associated with multiple ligamentous rupture of the knee: a case report.

We report on a case of a 19-year-old male student who sustained a hyperextension injury to his left knee while playing rugby, which resulted in a traction injury of the common peroneal nerve and multiple ligamentous injuries at the knee joint. The damaged part of the common peroneal nerve was resected, and an end-to-end suture was performed, because the gap between the nerve ends was small enough to allow closure with little mobilization. Now, 2.5 years after the surgery, the patient shows remarkable recovery. This result suggests that end-to-end suture is an ideal procedure for nerve traction injury, if the nerve ends can be closed without tension, without excessive flexion of the adjacent joint. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 22:339-342 2002