Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most common chronic complication in diabetic patients, with a prevalence of 60% to 90%. The pathogenesis of DPN is not fully understood, so there are no effective preventive measures. Treatment is also based on pharmacological treatment, including blood glucose control, analgesia, and neurotrophy. In the past, surgical treatment was limited to ulceration and amputation, but in the past 20 years, some scholars, pioneered by American plastic surgeon Dellon, have developed and promoted the use of multiple peripheral nerve decompression to treat DPN. Dellon proposed the “dual compression” theory based on the pathogenesis of DPN, that is, the peripheral nerve starts in the spinal cord and innervates the pathways of the fingers and toes. In diabetic patients, high glucose metabolism can cause nerve swelling, which can lead to compression of the diseased nerve at the anatomical stenosis, resulting in clinical symptoms in DPN patients. Accordingly, he proposed surgical incision of tendons, ligaments or fibrous tissues to loosen anatomical stenosis sites on the nerve pathways, decompress multiple peripheral nerves subject to entrapment, improve blood supply to the nerves and increase nerve compliance to achieve effective pain relief and improve limb numbness. The efficacy of this procedure has been confirmed by several animal experiments and clinical studies as a promising new approach for the treatment of DPN. Peripheral nerve decompression has been reported to provide pain relief and sensory improvement in approximately 80% to 90% of patients with DPN, and the earlier the treatment, the better the postoperative functional recovery. In a study of 50 unilateral surgical patients with long-term follow-up, it was found that none of the operated limbs had ulcers and amputations, while 12 of the non-operated limbs had ulcers and 3 had received amputations, suggesting that peripheral nerve decompression can alter the natural course of DPN and reduce the incidence of ulcers and amputations.