Femoral nerve neuropathy following the psoas hitch procedure

To present two cases of femoral nerve neuropathy following a psoas hitch procedure performed during Leadbetter-Politano ureteric reimplantation, and emphasize the importance of this rare complication.

Two 2-year-old boys with complex urological histories underwent Leadbetter-Politano ureteric reimplantations with a psoas hitch using non-absorbable sutures independently in Turkey and the UK. Postoperatively both developed a femoral nerve palsy, which required re-exploration and removal of the sutures. In the first case the femoral nerve was not identified, but in the second case re-exploration revealed the femoral nerve stretched by the nearby suture. Both boys made a full recovery from their neuropraxia.

These two cases illustrate the potential for nerve involvement with the psoas hitch manoeuvre, and the importance of early recognition of this complication. It is recommended that if a psoas hitch procedure is performed great care should be taken to identify the nerves, and if none are seen then the sutures are placed superficially into the belly of the muscle as the nerves may be sited deeper within it.