[A Case of Meralgia Paresthetica Treated with Neurolysis]

A 60-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of pain and numbness in the left anterolateral thigh. The symptoms aggravated on walking and standing. Her visual analogue scale(VAS)score was 7.1/10. Tinel's like sign was positive over the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve(LFCN), in the inguinal ligament region. LFCN block at the trigger point, in the inguinal ligament, resulted in relief of the symptoms and we diagnosed meralgia paresthetica(MP), which is the entrapment neuropathy of the LFCN. Initially, we performed observation therapy with oral medication and LFCN blocks. However, these treatments failed to relieve the symptoms. Therefore, we performed neurolysis with a microscope under local anesthesia. The symptoms improved immediately after surgery and her VAS score of thigh symptom improved from 7.1 to 1.9 after 3 months. Conservative and surgical treatment for MP generally yield good outcome and we should pay attention to the MP as a differential diagnosis for thigh numbness and pain.