Neurolysis for the treatment of sciatic nerve palsy after total hip arthroplasty

Sciatic nerve palsy after total hip arthroplasty is a relatively rare but potentially devastating complication. A recently published case-series study reported the outcomes in patients who developed sciatic nerve palsy and presented between 2000 and 2010 after primary or revision total hip arthroplasty, and who were treated with neurolysis. A retrospective review was carried out in 12 patients (eight women and four men) with sciatic nerve palsy after total hip arthroplasty. The mean age of the patients was 62.7 years. All patients underwent interfascicular neurolysis of the sciatic nerve after failure of six months of conservative treatment. After surgery a statistically and clinically significant improvement in motor function was seen in all patients. In total, 11 patients reported an improvement in pain after surgery.
The authors concluded that neurolysis of the sciatic nerve has a favourable prognosis in patients with nerve palsy following total hip arthroplasty. Their findings suggest that this operation should not be delayed for more than 12 months after the injury.
Source: The Bone And Joint Journal, October 2015