Deep Gluteal Pain Syndrome: Endoscopic Technique and Medium-Term Functional Outcomes

Sciatic nerve entrapment is an entity that generates disabling pain, mainly when the patient is sitting on the involved side. According to some studies, the presence of fibrovascular bands has been described as the main cause of this pathology, and the sciatic nerve's decompression by endoscopic release has been described as an effective treatment generally associated with a piriformis tenotomy. The aim of this study was to present the medium-term functional results of endoscopic release of the sciatic nerve without resection of the piriformis tendon.

This prospective, observational study included 57 patients who underwent an endoscopic operation for sciatic nerve entrapment between January 2014 and January 2019. In all cases, a detailed medical history was obtained and a physical examination and a functional evaluation were performed using the modified Harris hip score (mHHS), the 12-item International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-12), and the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. All patients had pelvic radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the hip on the involved side and underwent a prior evaluation by a spine surgeon.

This study included 20 male and 37 female patients with a mean age of 43.6 years (range, 24 to 88 years) and a mean follow-up of 22.7 months. The median mHHS improved from 59 to 85 points. The median iHOT-12 improved from 60 to 85 points. The median VAS decreased from 7 to 2. Postoperative complications occurred in 12% of patients: 1 patient with extensive symptomatic hematoma, 3 patients with hypoesthesia, and 3 patients with dysesthesia.

Endoscopic release of the sciatic nerve by resection of fibrovascular bands without piriformis tenotomy is a technique with good to excellent functional results comparable with those of techniques in the literature incorporating piriformis tenotomy.

Therapeutic Level IV . See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.