There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Sciatic hernias are considered the rarest pelvic floor hernias, with a very limited
number of published reports worldwide. The condition has received limited attention
in the surgical literature.
The data reported herein are based on a literature review including MEDLINE and CURRENT
CONTENTS computerized database searches. The existing bibliographies on sciatic hernia
were explored for articles pertaining to the review. Finally, the Internet was searched
for articles not listed in the available medical databases.
Sciatic hernia is unusual, and can present the physician with diagnostic and treatment
dilemmas. The hernia may present with obscure pelvic pain, intestinal obstruction,
life-threatening gluteal sepsis, or as an asymptomatic, reducible mass that distorts
the gluteal fold. Small sciatic hernia can remain hidden behind the gluteus maximus
muscle. The diagnosis requires imaging studies in such cases. Treatment of sciatic
hernia is always surgical and requires prosthetic reinforcement for the best result.