Drop foot, an unexpected complication of vaginal hysterectomy

Abstract

Drop foot due to common peroneal nerve injury is a rare complication that can occur after gynecologic and colorectal operations which are performed under lithotomy position. In the operations performed in lithotomy position, common peroneal nerve, depending on its anatomy, is in danger for compression and traction at the level of the head of the fibula and may be injured. Especially prolonged operation time, factors such as history of smoking, alcoholism, diabetes mellitus, history of familial neuropathy and subclinical neuropathy have been claimed to increase the risk. In this article, we aimed to discuss common peroneal nerve injury after vaginal hysterectomy with literature review, presenting a diabetic patient, who developed drop foot after vaginal hysterectomy and fully recovered after four months of physical therapy.