Sciatic nerve palsy--a complication of posterior approach using enhanced soft tissue repair for total hip arthroplasty.
Sciatic nerve palsy is a rare but well recognised complication of total hip replacement. There are a variety of potential causes of sciatic nerve palsy and its prevalence with different approaches has been mentioned in the literature.(1-5) The posterolateral or 'Southern' approach with some form of enhanced soft tissue repair is a commonly used approach for primary total hip arthroplasty. However, the sciatic nerve is recognised to be in close proximity to the surgical field. We report a case of sciatic nerve palsy after this approach as a result of a surgical suture used for soft tissue repair.
Lohana
Parkash
P
Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery, Morriston Hospital, Swansea, Wales SA6 6NL, UK. lohana28@hotmail.co.uk
Woodnutt
David J
DJ
Boyce
Dean E
DE
D000368:Aged; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000601:surgery; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012086:Reoperation; D020426:Sciatic Neuropathy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000009:adverse effects*