Summary- Ten adults were
studied two to seven years after resection of a fibula for use as a free vascularised
bone graft. Six had no symptoms in the donor leg, four had some aching, weakness
or paraesthesia and three had definite weakness of the long toe flexors and
extensors. All knees and ankles were clinically and radiologically stable, but
the distal fibular remnant was osteoporotic in nine patients.
Gait analysis of the donor leg and the contralateral normal leg showed definite
differences, which could be attributed to weakness of the deep muscles caused
by loss of their normal origin and to the change in load transmission through
the fbula.