Femoral nerve injury following a lumbar plexus blockade.

Abstract

Lumbar plexus blockade (LPB) combined with sciatic nerve block (SNB) is frequently used for lower extremity surgery. Perioperative nerve injury is a rarely encountered complication of peripheral nerve blocks (PNB). Here we report a 44-year-old male patient who developed a partial femoral nerve injury (FNI) following a LPB which was performed before the surgery of a patellar fracture. The clinical and electroneuromyographic findings of the patient were recovered almost completely within the following six months. The presented case demonstrated a FNI despite the absence of any pain or paresthesia sensation, with the disappearance of motor response under 0.3 mA of neurostimulation in the experienced hands.