Changes in quality of life and work status after surgical management of meralgia paresthetica- an observational...

Surgical management of meralgia paresthetica (MP) is effective in reducing pain. This study aims to analyze changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work status after surgical management of MP.

The institutional database was screened for surgically treated MP cases between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2022. Patients were followed up by a standardized questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) and interview.

The final analysis included 24 patients at a median age of 51 years (interquartile range [IQR] 40-57). Comorbidities were present in 92 % of patients. At a median time of follow-up of 25 months (IQR 11-57) after surgery, 83 % of patients reported a benefit, independent of comorbidities or individual work-status. Pre-surgical pain (on a numeric scale from 1 to 10) improved from 8 (IQR 6-9) to 4 (IQR 1-7; p < 0.001). Preoperatively, HRQoL (on a visual scale from 0 to 100) was rated at a median of 50 (IQR 30-75) and improved to a median of 70 (IQR 35-89; p = 0.004). Improvements in HRQoL were more pronounced among patients without comorbidity. A dimension specific EQ-5D-5L analysis for mobility/self-care/usual activities/pain/anxiety showed improvements from 3/1/3/4/2 pre-operatively to 2/1/2/3/2 at follow-up.Although most patients that had been part of the active workforce showed a benefit from surgery, 25 % of them did not return to work.

The majority of MP patients showed improvement in MP specific symptoms. HRQoL after surgery only improved among patients without depression, obesity and/or cardiovascular comorbidities as well as in non-retired subjects. However, a substantial number of patients did not return to work.