Iatrogenic Sciatic Nerve Injury in Posterior Acetabular Surgery: Surgeon More Predictive Than Position

To identify factors that contribute to iatrogenic sciatic nerve palsy during acetabular surgery through a Kocher-Langenbeck approach and to evaluate if variation among individual surgeons exists.

Retrospective cohort.

Level I trauma center.

Adults undergoing fixation of acetabular fractures (AO/OTA 62) through a posterior approach by 9 orthopaedic traumatologists between November 2010 and November 2022.

The prevalence of iatrogenic sciatic nerve palsy and comparison of the prevalence and risk of palsy between prone and lateral positions before and after adjusting for individual surgeon and the presence of transverse fracture patterns in logistic regression. Comparison of the prevalence of palsy between high-volume (>1 patient/month) and low-volume surgeons.

A total of 644 acetabular fractures repaired through a posterior approach were included (median age 39 years, 72% male). Twenty of 644 surgeries (3.1%) resulted in iatrogenic sciatic nerve palsy with no significant difference between the prone (3.1%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9%-4.9%) and lateral (3.3%, 95% CI, 1.3%-8.1%) positions (P = 0.64). Logistic regression adjusting for surgeon and transverse fracture pattern demonstrated no significant effect for positions (odds ratio 1.0, 95% CI, 0.3-3.9). Transverse fracture pattern was associated with increased palsy risk (odds ratio 3.0, 95% CI, 1.1-7.9). Individual surgeon was significantly associated with iatrogenic palsy (P < 0.02).

Surgeon and the presence of a transverse fracture line predicted iatrogenic nerve palsy after a posterior approach to the acetabulum in this single-center cohort. Surgeons should perform the Kocher-Langenbeck approach for acetabular fixation in the position they deem most appropriate, as the position was not associated with the rate of iatrogenic palsy in this series.

Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.