[Damage to the lumbosacral plexus in psoas hitch operation]

The psoas hitch operation is used for the management of ureteral disease requiring replacement of varying lengths of the ureter. During this procedure the bladder is fixed to the psoas by 2 or 3 hitches of nonresorbable suture. Astonishingly, peripheral nerve injury to the lumbosacral plexus has not yet been described as a complication even though it has been seen when the psoas muscle was hitched unintentionally during abdominal surgery. Within 14 days we saw 2 patients with damage to parts of the lumbosacral plexus following a psoas hitch. In one case, hypesthesia and exercise-related pain in the areas supplied by the genitofemoral, the ilioinguinal and femoral nerve persisted, suggesting inclusion of at least parts of those nerves in the hitch. Initial paresis of hip flexion did not persist and the second patient recovered without sequelae. According to the literature this kind of complication does not occur if visible nerves are avoided and stitches an used that are no deeper than 3 mm into the psoas muscle.