BackgroundThe purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of endoscopic sciatic nerve decompression and evaluated the differences of clinical results between atraumatic and traumatic groups.MethodsSixty consecutive patients. We retrospectively reviewed sixty consecutive patients without major trauma (45 hips) or with major trauma (15 hips) groups to compare the outcomes of endoscopic treatment.). The mean follow-up period was 24 ± 2.6 months (range, 24–38.4 months).ResultsThe mean duration of symptoms was 14.1 months (range, 12 to 32 months). Compromising structures were piriformis muscle, fibrovascular bundles, and adhesion with scar tissues. The mean VAS score for pain decreased from 7.4 ± 1.5 to 2.6 ± 1.5 (P = .001). The mean mHHS increased from 81.7 ± 9.6 to 91.8 ± 7.6 (P = .003). Clinically, positive paresthesia and seated piriformis test were statistically significant to diagnosis sciatic entrapment syndrome. Paresthesia and sitting pain were significantly improved at the final follow-up (P = .002). More favorable outcome was observed a group without major trauma. No complication was observed.ConclusionsEndoscopic sciatic nerve decompression is a safe and effective procedure for the management of DGS. Patients with major trauma could have poor clinical outcome. Seated piriformis test, FADIR, and tenderness of sciatic notch are maybe useful guide for pre and postoperative evaluation of DGS.

Endoscopic release of the sciatic nerve after fractures or reconstructive surgeries could provide some improvements without complications. However, more favorable outcomes were observed in the idiopathic DGS group.

BackgroundSciatic nerve injuries following total hip arthroplasty are disabling complications. Although degrees of injury are variable from neuropraxia to neurotmesis, mechanical irritation of sciatic nerve might be occurred by protruding hardware. This case shows endoscopic decompression for protruded acetabular screw irritating sciatic nerve, the techniques described herein may permit broader arthroscopic/endoscopic applications for management of complications after reconstructive hip surgery.Case presentationAn 80-year-old man complained of severe pain and paresthesias following acetabular component revision surgery. Physical findings included right buttock pain with radiating pain to lower extremity. Radiographs and computed tomography imaging showed that the sharp end of protruded screw invaded greater sciatic foramen anterior to posterior and distal to proximal direction at sciatic notch level. A protruding tip of the acetabular screw at the sciatic notch was decompressed by use of techniques gained from experience performing endoscopic sciatic nerve decompression. The pre-operative pain and paresthesias resolved post-operatively after recovering from anesthesia.ConclusionsThis case report describes the first documented endoscopic resection of the tip of the acetabular screw irritating sciatic nerve after total hip arthroplasty. If endoscopic resection of an offending acetabular screw can be performed in a safe and minimally invasive manner, one can envision a future expansion of the role of hip arthroscopic surgery in several complications management after total hip arthroplasty.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12891-018-2091-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.