Foot drop following liver transplant

[yowsy123]

Hi all,

Patient today in a private musculoskeletal clinic presenting with foot drop following surgery.

He has had a liver transplant, a 13 hour operation (!), and the NHS physio gave him a Theraband and one exercise.
The drop was present immediately following surgery.

Dull dermatome specific to L5
At most a slight flicker into eversion, G4 dorsiflexion and everything else is fairly standard.
He has an AFO which isn't being used frequently as he's able to walk short distances comfortably and is swimming daily.

Have started him on some exercises for home but today's session was mostly education and advice.

I was looking for some help into thoughts on the splint verses other aids available? anyone have any personal experiences with night splints and effects/are they still used frequently? FES/NMES suitable due to the dull sensory input? anyone have any particularly good exercises? and lastly thoughts on referring back to check results/get tested to see what damage has been done to the nerve and to get a better idea for the patient of potential for recovery?

Any help on any of these matters is hugely appreciated and I can provide further info if needed for these purposes as detailed assessment was carried out?

Thanks in advance

Similar Threads:

• disc herniation and drop foot
• Foot Drop
• Bilateral foot drop post laminectomy
• Toe off for foot drop AND twisting?
• About Functional Electrical Stimulation for foot drop

[getbackup]

I am a foot drop sufferer. I have been a long-distance runner for years, and after a spinal injury, I was left with nerve damage resulting in permanent foot drop. I have tried every AFO, excercise, treatment, etc. that my orthotist could think of. I finally had to seek out answers on my own. (For the full version of my story if you have more interest, this is truly the nutshell version - Get Back Up!).

I was contacted by a company that had me try something completely different - the ToeOFF brace. It's much different than a traditional AFO. I have actually returned to marathon running. If your patient is able to walk short distances comfortably, the ToeOFF might help him with a greater return to mobility.

Hope this helps.

[yowsy123]

Thanks getbackup,

Orthotics etc isn't my area by any stretch but I'll def have a look into it.

Any neuro/physios with much experience in this advise on NMES and further investigation into the cause in particular would be very useful.

Thanks

[getbackup]

No problem. Hopefully any info will help.