[Research progress on meralgia paresthetica after posterior spine surgery].

Meralgia paresthetica (MP) after posterior spine surgery is caused by mechanical compression injury of lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, which presents as numbness or paresthesia in the confined area of the anterolateral thigh. MP after posterior spine surgery is a common postoperative complication, and the incidence is 12.7%-25.5%. Because its clinical manifestations are mild and easy to be ignored, often leading to treatment delays. This article mainly reviews the incidence, risk factors, prevention and treatment of MP after posterior spine surgery.

Postpartum femoral neuropathy: managing the next pregnancy.

A 34-year-old primiparous woman presented in spontaneous labour and had an unassisted vaginal birth of a 3.5 kg infant. Postnatally, the patient experienced lower limb weakness and was unable to mobilise unassisted. A diagnosis of postpartum femoral neuropathy was made. Full recovery of normal motor function was not achieved until 5 months postpartum. She returned in her next pregnancy, seeking advice on how to avoid this complication from reoccurring. It was decided that an elective caesarean section was an appropriate mode of delivery, which she underwent at 39 weeks without complication and without recurrence of the femoral neuropathy.

Reducing Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve Palsy in Obese Patients in the Beach Chair Position: Effect of a Standardized Positioning and Padding Protocol.

INTRODUCTION: To report on the effectiveness of a standardized patient positioning and padding protocol in reducing lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) palsy in obese patients who have undergone shoulder surgery in the beach chair position. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 400 consecutive patients with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥30 kg/m who underwent either open or arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the beach chair position by a single surgeon. Before June 2013, all patients were placed in standard beach chair positioning with no extra padding. After June 2013, patients had foam padding placed over their thighs underneath a wide safety strap and underneath the abdominal pannus. Flexion at the waist was minimized, and reverse Trendelenburg was used to position the shoulder appropriately. Patient demographic and surgical data, including age, sex, weight, BMI, presence of diabetes, procedure duration, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade, and anesthesia type (general, regional, regional/general) were recorded. Symptoms of LFCN palsy were specifically elicited postoperatively in a prospective fashion and identified clinically by focal pain, numbness, and/or tingling over the anterolateral thigh. RESULTS: The median age was 58.0 years, and the study consisted of 142 male (36%) and 258 female (64%) subjects. Five cases (3.6%) of LFCN palsy occurred with conventional beach chair positioning, and a single case (0.4%) occurred with the standardized positioning and padding technique (P = 0.02). Median age, sex, presence of diabetes, median BMI, surgery type, and surgical time were not significantly different between the patients who did and did not develop LFCN palsy. All cases resolved completely within 6 months. DISCUSSION: The occurrence of LFCN palsy following shoulder surgery in the beach chair position remains uncommon, even among obese patients. Use of a standardized positioning and padding protocol for obese patients in the beach chair position reduced the prevalence of LFCN palsy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III (prognostic).

Retroperitoneal anatomy of the iliohypogastric, ilioinguinal, genitofemoral, and lateral femoral cutaneous nerve: consequences for prevention and treatment of chronic inguinodynia.

PURPOSE: Chronic inguinodynia is one of the most frequent complications after groin herniorrhaphy. We investigated the retroperitoneal anatomy of the iliohypogastric, ilioinguinal, genitofemoral, and lateral femoral cutaneous nerve to prevent direct nerve injury during hernia repairs and to find the most advantageous approach for posterior triple neurectomy. METHODS: We dissected the inguinal nerves in 30 human anatomic specimens bilaterally. The distances from each nerve and their entry points in the abdominal wall were measured in relation to the posterior superior iliac spine, anterior superior iliac spine, and the midpoint between the two iliac spines on the iliac crest. We evaluated our findings by creating high-resolution summation images. RESULTS: The courses of the iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerve are most consistent on the anterior surface of the quadratus lumborum muscle. The genitofemoral nerve always runs on the psoas muscle. The entry points of the nerves in the abdominal wall are located as follows: the iliohypogastric nerve is above the iliac crest and lateral from the anterior superior iliac spine, the ilioinguinal nerve is with great variability, either above or below the iliac crest and lateral from the anterior superior iliac spine, the genital branch is around the internal inguinal ring, the femoral branch is either cranial or caudal to the iliopubic tract, and the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve is either medial or lateral to the anterior superior iliac spine. CONCLUSION: Nerve injury during inguinal hernia repairs can be avoided by taking the topographic anatomy of the inguinal nerves into consideration. The most advantageous plane to look for the iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerve during posterior neurectomy is on the anterior surface of the quadratus lumborum muscle. For the surgical treatment of severe chronic inguinodynia, especially after posterior open or endoscopic mesh repair (TAPP/TEP), the retroperitoneoscopic or open retroperitoneal approach for posterior triple neurectomy can be considered.

Genitofemoral nerve protection during the lateral retroperitoneal transpsoas approach.

BACKGROUND: The minimally invasive lateral retroperitoneal approach for lumbar fusions is a novel technique with good results, but also with significant sensory and motor complications. OBJECTIVE: To present the early results of a modified surgical technique, in which the psoas muscle is dissected under direct visualization. METHODS: Thirteen consecutive patients with L4-5 or L3-4 pathology were prospectively followed after being treated using a minimally invasive lateral approach with direct exposure of the psoas muscle before dissection. There were 7 woman and 6 men with a mean age of 52.3 years. Perioperative parameters like operative time, estimated blood loss, and length of stay, were noted. Pain, paresthesia, and motor weakness, as well as any other complications, were evaluated at 2 weeks and 3 months postoperatively. RESULTS: The mean operative time, estimated blood loss, and length of stay were 163 minutes, 126 mL, and 3 days, respectively. One patient exhibited anterior thigh pain and paresthesia at 2 weeks, both of which resolved by 3 months. Two patients experienced superficial wound infections that healed with antibiotics. The genitofemoral nerve was identified and protected in 7 patients; in 4 patients, it had a more posterior anatomic location than expected. The femoral nerve was not exposed or detected in the operative field by neuromonitoring, nor were there any symptoms related to a femoral nerve injury in any patient. CONCLUSION: Dissection of the psoas muscle under direct visualization during the minimally invasive lateral approach may provide increased safety to the genitofemoral and femoral nerves.

Complications of hysterectomy.

Hysterectomy is the most common gynecologic procedure performed in the United States, with more than 600,000 procedures performed each year. Complications of hysterectomy vary based on route of surgery and surgical technique. The objective of this article is to review risk factors associated with specific types of complications associated with benign hysterectomy, methods to prevent and recognize complications, and appropriate management of complications. The most common complications of hysterectomy can be categorized as infectious, venous thromboembolic, genitourinary (GU) and gastrointestinal (GI) tract injury, bleeding, nerve injury, and vaginal cuff dehiscence. Infectious complications after hysterectomy are most common, ranging from 10.5% for abdominal hysterectomy to 13.0% for vaginal hysterectomy and 9.0% for laparoscopic hysterectomy. Venous thromboembolism is less common, ranging from a clinical diagnosis rate of 1% to events detected by more sensitive laboratory methods of up to 12%. Injury to the GU tract is estimated to occur at a rate of 1-2% for all major gynecologic surgeries, with 75% of these injuries occurring during hysterectomy. Injury to the GI tract after hysterectomy is less common, with a range of 0.1-1%. Bleeding complications after hysterectomy also are rare, with a median range of estimated blood loss of 238-660.5 mL for abdominal hysterectomy, 156-568 mL for laparoscopic hysterectomy, and 215-287 mL for vaginal hysterectomy, with transfusion only being more likely after laparoscopic compared to vaginal hysterectomy (odds ratio 2.07, confidence interval 1.12-3.81). Neuropathy after hysterectomy is a rare but significant event, with a rate of 0.2-2% after major pelvic surgery. Vaginal cuff dehiscence is estimated at a rate of 0.39%, and it is more common after total laparoscopic hysterectomy (1.35%) compared with laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (0.28%), total abdominal hysterectomy (0.15%), and total vaginal hysterectomy (0.08%). With an emphasis on optimizing surgical technique, recognition of surgical complications, and timely management, we aim to minimize risk for women undergoing hysterectomy.

Iatrogenic femoral neuropathy: two cases and literature update.

Iatrogenic femoral neuropathy is an uncommon surgical or obstetric complication that may be underreported. It results from compression, stretch, ischemia, or direct trauma of the nerve during hip arthroplasty, self-retaining retractor use in pelvicoabdominal surgery, lithotomy positioning for anesthesia or labor, and other more rare causes. Decreasing incidence of this complication after abdominal and gynecologic surgery but increase in its absolute numbers after hip arthroplasty has emerged over the last decade. We describe two illustrative cases related respectively to lithotomy positioning and self-retaining retractor use. The variability in clinical presentation of iatrogenic femoral nerve lesions, some new insights in their diverse pathophysiology, and in the diagnostic and treatment options are discussed with an update from the literature.

Acute femoral neuropathy following renal transplantation: a retrospective, multicenter study in China.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the relationship between the mode and duration of iliac artery anastomosis and acute femoral neuropathy (AFN). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 83 AFN cases from 6 transplantation centers in China. The incidence and nature of dysfunction of AFN were classified based upon the duration of iliac arterial anastomosis. No prisoners were used, and no organs from prisoners were used to obtain the data. RESULTS: The incidence of AFN was 3.6% (53/1,449) in internal iliac anastomosis (group 1), 3.1% (11/346) in external iliac anastomosis (group 2) (P > .05 vs. group 1), and was 54.2% (19/35) in internal iliac ligation with external iliac anastomosis (group 3 P < .01 vs. groups 1 and 2). In group 1, the duration of the arterial anastomosis was 20 minutes in 52 cases (98.1%). In group 2, the duration of arterial anastomosis was 20 minutes in 10 cases (91%). In group 3, the duration of the arterial anastomosis was >20 minutes in all cases; 20 cases showed injury to the iliolumbar or deep iliac circumflex artery. CONCLUSION: The incidence of AFN was associated with the selection of iliac arteries, the duration of the arterial anastomosis, and an injury to the iliolumbar or deep iliac circumflex artery.

Iatrogenic femoral neuropathy following pelvic surgery: a rare and often overlooked complication--four case reports and literature review.

Femoral neuropathy can result from diverse etiologies following abdominal surgery. We describe four cases of postoperative femoral neuropathy after proctological procedures that were carried out at our hospital. The related symptoms developed occultly but eventually impaired patient motor or sensory functions in the lower extremities. When the patient fails to address associated suffering, it is easy for clinicians to neglect this type of morbidity. All patients recovered from neuropathy following timely detection of the disease entity confirmed by electromyography and nerve conduction studies, followed by adequate rehabilitation management. We hypothesize that postoperative femoral neuropathy may be closely related to unsuitable applications of self-retaining retractors, rather than being associated with other factors, such as gender, age, surgery time or body mass index (BMI). Furthermore, we used a literature review to examine the pathophysiology, diagnoses and treatment modalities of femoral neuropathy resulting from inappropriate placement of self-retaining retractors. Based on a thorough comprehension of the femoral nerves anatomical course and meticulous placement of retractor blades, these types of iatrogenic complications may be prevented.