The surgical treatment of peripheral neuromas

Peripheral neuromas are a prevalent problem following nerve injury or certain surgical interventions like limb amputation. It is important to consider a peripheral neuroma when a patient experiences pain in the innervation area of a peripheral sensory or mixed nerve (branch), especially following trauma or amputation. Adequate recognition of a painful neuroma is crucial to treat patients satisfactorily for their invalidating and chronic symptoms. We want to emphasize that surgical intervention can be an effective and permanent treatment for symptomatic neuromas. The standard surgical treatment is neuroma excision and burying of the nerve stump in adjacent muscle. However, there is a shift towards new and active techniques like Targeted Muscle Reinnervation, of which future comparative research will have to demonstrate whether it is more effective in treating peripheral neuroma pain than conventional surgery.