Laparoscopic approach to refractory extraspinal sciatica and pudendal pain caused by intrapelvic nerve entrapment

Entrapments of the intrapelvic portions of the lumbosacral plexus are an important extraspinal cause of sciatica and pudendal neuralgia. They can be treated using Laparoscopic Neuronavigation (LANN), a minimally invasive technique that has set the foundations of an emerging field in Medicine-Neuropelveology. This retrospective-prospective study analyzes the outcomes of 63 patients treated with the LANN technique over a 10 year time period. One year after surgery, 78.3% of patients reported clinically relevant pain reduction, defined as ≥ 50% reduction in Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score; these results were maintained for a mean follow up of 3.2 years. Preoperative chronic opioid use (≥ 4 months of ≥ 10 mg morphine equivalents/day) was a predictor of poor surgical outcome-clinically relevant pain reduction was observed in only 30.8% in this group of patients, compared to 91.5% in patients not regularly taking opioids preoperatively (p < 0.01). Perioperative complication rate was 20%. Our results indicate that the LANN technique is an effective and reproducible approach to relieve pain secondary to intrapelvic nerve entrapments and that preoperative chronic opioid therapy significantly reduces the likelihood of a successful surgical outcome. This study provides detailed information on perioperative complication and postoperative course, which is essential for patient consenting.