Nerve Transfers in the Management of Femoral Nerve Palsy: A Systematic Review.

The primary objective of this systematic review is to describe the effectiveness of nerve transfers for restoring quadriceps motor function in patients with femoral nerve palsy. MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL were searched from their inception to June 2023 for any English language, primary literature investigating nerve transfers for femoral nerve palsy. Data were extracted for study and intervention characteristics, as well as clinical outcomes, including preoperative and postoperative knee extension strength, electrodiagnostic studies, functional outcomes, adverse events, and donor site morbidity. The primary outcome was defined as return of knee extension equivalent to or greater than a grade 4-on the Medical Research Council scale. Eighteen studies with a total of 40 patients were included. The most common nerve donor was the obturator nerve in 17 studies with 37 patients, followed by the nerve to sartorius in two studies (10 patients). Significant variations in procedures and outcomes reported were observed. There were no studies that reported an effect on ambulation due to donor weakness. Based on the available literature, nerve transfer appears to be an effective treatment for restoring quadriceps function in this population, with 79% of patients in our study achieving at minimum 4-/5 Medical Research Council grade power.