Acute Complete Foot Drop Caused by Intraneural Ganglion Cyst without a Prior Traumatic Event

Abstract

Intraneural ganglion cysts are benign soft-tissue masses located in the epineurium of peripheral nerves. They originate from nearby joint connections via articular branches. Traumatic events seem to play a role in their pathogenesis as well. Clinical manifestations include pain over the area of the cyst, palpable tender mass, hypoesthesia, and muscle weakness depending on the affected nerve. Our case highlights an uncommon clinical manifestation of this entity with acute foot drop, as the primary symptom, without any previous traumatic event, enriching by this way the current diagnostic thinking process of clinical physicians. We report a case of a 42-year-old military officer who presented to our emergency department with acute foot drop that appeared during a march. Initially, the common peroneal palsy was misdiagnosed as L5-S1 disc herniation, but investigation with lumbar MRI scan led to rejection of our primary diagnosis. After performing EMG of the lower extremity and knee MRI, an intraneural ganglion cyst of the common peroneal nerve was diagnosed. Patient was treated with surgical decompression of the cyst, followed by ligation and complete resection of the articular branch, as well as disarticulation of the superior tibiofibular joint. At a twelve-month follow-up, the patient showed significant functional recovery. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first case of intraneural ganglion cyst manifested with an acute complete foot drop without a clear prior traumatic event. We underline the need for a high index of suspicion when dealing with cases of acute peroneal palsy without any accompanying symptoms.