Suprainguinal retroperitoneal approach for the successful surgical treatment of meralgia paresthetica

Objective Neurosurgical textbooks describe an infrainguinal approach as the standard or preferred option for the surgical treatment of meralgia paresthetica (MP), the most frequent entrapment neuropathy of the lower limb. However, inhomogeneous results led the authors to adopt a suprainguinal, retroperitoneal approach for decompression of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. In this paper the authors' aim was to study the outcome of patients harboring MP treated via this different surgical approach. Methods. The outcome of 55 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for NIP via the suprainguinal retroperitoneal approach during a 15-year period was ascertained through postal questionnaires (in 47 patients) and follow-up visits (in 8 patients). The male to female ratio was 1:0.67, and the mean patient age was 50 +/- 12.9 years. The mean follow-up was 3.2 +/- 3.3 years. Seven of the patients underwent bilateral surgery. Results. Intraoperatively the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve was consistently found in close anatomical relationship to the anterior superior iliac spine, although some variations regarding the diameter, number of branches, and underlying pathological entity were observed. Eighty-seven percent of patients showed improvement (21 patients) or complete remission (27 patients) of painful dysesthesia in the anterolateral thigh, and 13% (7 patients) remained unchanged. In addition 82% had improvement (31 patients) or complete remission (14 patients) of hypesthesia, leaving 18% with unchanged (9 patients) or worsened (1 patient) hypesthesia. In the patient-evaluated group 66% (31 of 47) were completely satisfied with the outcome, 23% (11 of 47) were partially satisfied, and 11% (5 of 47) were not satisfied with the outcome. Two cases each of recurrence, seroma, wound infection, and 1 case of hematoma requiring revision were encountered as complications. Conclusions. The suprainguinal retroperitoneal approach is a viable first-choice option for the surgical relief of MP. (DOI: 10.3171/2008.3.17471)