Hort, Kurtis R.

Twenty-three patients with clinical signs of adjacent intermetatarsal nerve irritation who underwent adjacent nerve release with single-nerve excision through one incision were studied. Mean follow-up was 11 months. Of 21 patients interviewed, 19 (90%) had resolution of all or most of their pain, 20 (95%) had no or only minimal activity limitation, and 20 (95%) were completely satisfied with their outcome. Of 19 patients examined, none had pain with compression of the interspace of the excised nerve, although two (11%) had discomfort with compression of the interspace of the nerve that was only released. Protective sensation was present postoperatively in all patients except one who had preoperative neuropathy.

To investigate the usefulness of a standard surgical preparation in prevention of surgical site contamination, 49 consecutive patients undergoing foot or ankle surgery were randomly assigned to standard preparation with chlorhexidine gluconate home scrubs and preoperative povidone-iodine or to standard preparation plus preoperative preparation with 70% alcohol. Results were available for all 49 patients. Cultures were positive for normal aerobic bacteria from the toes of nine of 26 patients (35%) receiving standard surgical preparation and from the toes of 13 of 23 patients (57%) receiving standard preparation plus alcohol (P=0.12). No patient had a positive culture for anaerobic organisms or clinical evidence of infection or wound problems. Standard surgical preparation did not provide a completely sterile field, and the inclusion of alcohol added no benefit.