Variations in the compartmental location of the superficial fibular nerve: a cadaveric study with meta-analysis.

Abstract

To investigate variations in the course of the superficial fibular nerve (SFN) and its branches-the medial dorsal cutaneous nerve (MDCN) and intermediate dorsal cutaneous nerve (IDCN)-concerning the leg compartments by means of a meta-analysis supplemented with an original anatomical study. A literature survey was conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Lilacs databases on October 14th, 2021, to obtain anatomical data, and the PRISMA statement was adopted as a methodological guideline. We used MetaXL software for data analysis. We classified the anatomical data into three location patterns: in Type 1, the SFN courses through the lateral compartment; in Type 2, the SFN courses through the anterior compartment; in Type 3, the MDCN courses through the anterior compartment and the IDCN courses in the lateral compartment. Twelve studies (n = 837 lower limbs) comprised the current review. The SFN location was normal (Type 1 variation) in 77% (95% CI 72.9-78.9) of the cases, while Type 2 had a pooled prevalence of 14.3% (95% CI 11.1-15.9). Type 3 was the less common course, with a prevalence of 8.7% (95% CI 5.9-9.7). We found differences among the geographical subgroups analyzed. The SFN courses through the lateral compartment of the leg most times, and the prevalence of this pattern varies significantly between the different geographical subgroups evaluated. These results are of great clinical and surgical relevance.