Sciatic nerve palsy--a complication of posterior approach using enhanced soft tissue repair for total hip arthroplasty.

Sciatic nerve palsy is a rare but well recognised complication of total hip replacement. There are a variety of potential causes of sciatic nerve palsy and its prevalence with different approaches has been mentioned in the literature.(1-5) The posterolateral or 'Southern' approach with some form of enhanced soft tissue repair is a commonly used approach for primary total hip arthroplasty. However, the sciatic nerve is recognised to be in close proximity to the surgical field. We report a case of sciatic nerve palsy after this approach as a result of a surgical suture used for soft tissue repair. Copyright 2009 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.