Topographic variations of the relationship of the sciatic nerve and the piriformis muscle and its relevance to palsy after total hip arthroplasty

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to study the anatomical relationship between the piriformis muscle and the sciatic nerve with regard to the possibility of neurological deficit after THA. The incidence of anatomical variation of both structures is 15-30% in the literature.

The authors studied 91 cadavers and found an atypical relationship in 19 cases (20.9%).

Keywords

• sciatic nerve
• piriformis muscle
• anatomical variations
• palsy
• hip replacement
• hip prosthesis