Minimal Invazive Surgical Treatment of Piriformis Syndrome and the Results

Abstract

Piriformis syndrome is a neuromuscular pain syndrome occurring as a result of compression on the underlying sciatic nerve due to various causes including the hypertrophy, inflammation, mass lesions or anatomical variations occuring in the deep gluteal space. Patients with piriformis syndrome often experience pain and numbness in the hip, thigh and leg, similar to those of sciatica. In addition to clinical findings, electrophysiological examinations and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful for diagnosis. Once diagnosed, the treatment approach is stepwise and conservative treatment is successful in majority of cases. Surgical treatment should be performed for the cases in whom conservative treatment methods fail and when the sciatic nerve should be decompressed. Surgery is an important treatment option for unresolved piriformis syndrome with its simplicity and low morbidity. Several surgical procedures have been described for the decompression of affected sciatic nerve. Due to excessive fibrosis tissue that may be developed around the sciatic nerve in classical surgical procedures, person's return to social and work life may be delayed. In the present study, we will evaluate the surgical indication criteria of our cases who underwent minimally invasive surgical treatment due to piriformis syndrome, the definition of the surgical procedure and the outcomes.