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Acute Sciatic Nerve Palsy as a Delayed Complication of Low-Molecular-Weight-Heparin Prophylaxis After Total Hip Arthroplasty

The American Journal of Orthopedics. 2009 February;38(2):E28-E30
February 1, 2009|The American Journal of Orthopedics
Beksac B;Gonzalez Della Valle A;Salvati EA
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Burak Beksaç, MD, Alejandro González Della Valle, MD, and Eduardo A. Salvati, MD

Dr. Beksaç is Research Fellow, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York, and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York.

Dr. González Della Valle is Assistant Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York, and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York.

Dr. Salvati is Director Emeritus of Hip and Knee Service, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York, and Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York.

Abstract not available. Introduction provided instead.

Sciatic nerve palsy is a recognized complication of total hip arthroplasty (THA).1,2 The low incidence of this complication ranges from 0% to 3.7%.1 Delayed-onset acute sciatic nerve palsy due to hematoma is rare. With recent increased use of potent anticoagulants for thromboprophylaxis, the incidence of sciatic palsy secondary to local hematoma has increased.3 In this article, we report the case of a patient who underwent primary THA and, over a few hours on postoperative day 3 (POD3), developed complete sciatic nerve palsy due to local bleeding secondary to low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) prophylaxis.

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