Posterior tibial nerve lesions in ankle arthroscopy

Ankle arthroscopy provides a minimally invasive approach to the diagnosis and treatment of certain ankle disorders. Neurological complications resulting from ankle arthroscopy have been well documented in orthopaedic and podiatric literature. Owing to the superficial location of the ankle joint and the abundance of overlying periarticular neurovascular structures, complications reported in ankle arthroscopy are greater than those reported for other joints. In particular, all reported neurovascular injuries following ankle arthroscopy have been the direct result of distractor pin or portal placement. The standard posteromedial portal has recognized risks because of the proximity of the posterior neurovascular structures. There can be considerable variability in the course of these portals and their proximity to the neurovascular structures. We found one report of intra-articular damage to the posterior tibial nerve as a result of ankle arthroscopy in the English-language literature and we report this paper as a second case described in the literature.