Sciatic and peroneal nerve injuries after endovascular ablation of lower extremity varicosities: Case reports and review of the literature

Varicose veins have traditionally been treated by surgical intervention. When performed in the lower limb, surgical vein stripping can potentially cause injury to the saphenous, sural, tibial, and peroneal nerves due to anatomic proximity. Newer, minimally invasive procedures, such as endovenous laser ablation and endovenous radiofrequency ablation, are more commonly used today. Although the potential for neural injury is greatly reduced, endovenous laser ablation and endovenous radiofrequency ablation have been documented to cause neural damage. Here, we report rare complications of 2 cases of varicosity endovascular ablation. One case involves ablation of the lesser saphenous vein and resulted in injury to the proximal common peroneal and tibial as well as distal sciatic nerves. The second case involves ablation of the vein of Giacomini that resulted in a common peroneal nerve injury. We stress the importance of preoperative anatomic mapping of the highly variable venous and neural systems in the area of ablation to minimize neural complications.