Management and outcomes in 353 surgically treated sciatic nerve lesions

This is a retrospective analysis of 353 surgically treated sciatic nerve lesions in which injury mechanisms, location, time to surgical repair, surgical techniques, and functional outcomes are reported. Results are presented to provide guidelines for management of these injuries.

One hundred seventy-five patients with buttock-level and 178 with thigh-level sciatic nerve injury were surgically treated at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center between 1968 and 1999. Buttock-level injury mechanisms included injection in 64 patients, hip fracture/dislocation in 26, contusion in 22, compression in 19, gunshot wound (GSW) in 17, hip arthroplasty in 15, and laceration in 12; at the thigh level, GSW was the cause in 62 patients, femoral fracture in 34, laceration in 32, contusion in 28, compression in 12, and iatrogenic injury in 10. Patients with sciatic nerve divisions in which positive intraoperative nerve action potentials (NAPs) were found underwent neurolysis and attained at least Grade 3 functional outcomes in 108 (87%) of 124 and in 91 (96%) of 95 buttock- and thigh-level tibial divisions, respectively, compared with 84 (71%) of 119 and 75 (79%) of 95, respectively, in the peroneal divisions. For suture repair, recovery to at least Grade 3 occurred in eight (73%) of 11 buttock-level and in 27 (93%) of 29 thigh-level tibial division injuries, and in three (30%) of 10 buttock-level and 20 (69%) of 29 thigh-level peroneal division lesions. For graft repair, good recovery occurred in 21 (62%) of 34 and in 43 (80%) of 54 buttock- and thigh-level tibial divisions, respectively, even in proximal repairs requiring long grafts, and in only nine (24%) of 37 and 22 (45%) of 49 buttock- and thigh-level peroneal division lesions, respectively.

Surgical exploration and neurolysis after positive NAP readings, or repair with sutures or grafts after negative NAP results are worthwhile in selected cases.