High sural nerve trifurcation: a rare anatomical variation

The sural nerve is a commonly encountered anatomical structure in foot and ankle surgeries. Knowledge of its location and course is imperative in performing surgeries within its vicinity to avoid neurological deficits. We herein report a rare anatomical variation of the sural nerve where it trifurca...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tan, Eng Kee, Alias, Azammuddin, Yeak, Raymond, Jaafar, Mohd Shahril, M. Nizlan, Nasir
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature journal 2022
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101709/
Description
Summary:The sural nerve is a commonly encountered anatomical structure in foot and ankle surgeries. Knowledge of its location and course is imperative in performing surgeries within its vicinity to avoid neurological deficits. We herein report a rare anatomical variation of the sural nerve where it trifurcates above the level of the lateral malleolus that was discovered in a patient who underwent internal fixation for a trimalleolar ankle fracture with ipsilateral navicular fracture. This study aimed to raise awareness on a unique anatomical variation of the sural nerve in order to reduce the risk of iatrogenic injury.