Endoscopic retrieval of the sural nerve.

The rapid proliferation and applications of endoscopic-guided systems have transcended all surgical specialties. The future as regards reconstructive microneurosurgery is uncertain but inevitable, as already characterized by efforts to seek an alternative method for harvest of the sural nerve. Although still a primitive technique, endoscopic assistance in the retrieval of long, sural-nerve grafts has been found to minimize the trauma and morbidity of dissection; can simplify identification of frequently anomalous branches; and allows a reduction of the number of incisions, to improve the aesthetic result.