Diabetic muscle infarction of the peroneus brevis: a case report

Diabetic muscle infarction of the peroneus brevis is a rare complication of diabetes mellitus. It often presents with an acute leg pain without any obvious signs. Due to poor awareness of this condition, it is often misdiagnosed and results in anxiety of the patient and unnecessary investigations. It is ominous as it usually indicates vascular disease of the end organs. We report a case where the patient presented to several physicians for leg pain without any other clinical signs. The diagnosis was suspected on ultrasound and confirmed with biopsy. The symptoms improved dramatically after excision. Although most literature suggests conservative treatment by non-weight bearing and analgesia, the recovery period can last for more than 6 weeks, with a recurrence rate of 50%. We feel that there is a role for excision biopsy of the lesion for both diagnosis and treatment. In this case, symptoms improved remarkably and the patient was able to ambulate without pain 2 days after the operation without needing any analgesia.