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THE MANAGEMENT OF MERALGIA PARAESTHETICA IN CHILDREN.

Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital, Eaton Road, Liverpool, L12 2AP

Aim: To demonstrate that the conservative management of meralgia paraesthetica in children is effective.

Method: Clinic case-notes of the senior author (CB) were retrospectively searched between January 1997 and February 2007 to identify cases of meralgia paraesthetica. Sixteen cases were discovered in fourteen patients, 6 right, 6 left, and 2 bilateral. Four patients had had previous pelvic surgery and two combined pelvic and femoral osteotomy for developmental dysplasia of the hip. One underwent bilateral pinning for slipped upper femoral epiphyses. Clinical symptoms were assessed subjectively. All patients were initially managed conservatively with NSAIDs and counselled to avoid tight fitting clothing across the waist. If symptoms had failed to settle at follow-up a local anaesthetic/steroid injection was administered to the site of maximal tenderness. Surgical decompression was performed for intractable cases.

Results: There were 10 females and 4 males, with a mean age of 13.6 years (8–17). Mean follow-up was 15 months (1–50).

Eleven cases (68.8%) improved with conservative management and a further three cases improved following a local anaesthetic/steroid injection. Two cases (12.5%) who did not improve with these measures underwent surgical decompression with subsequent improvement in symptoms. No side effects were reported from the either the steroid injection or surgical decompression.

Conclusions: There is no current evidence supporting the management of meralgia paraesthetica in children. In adults, this elusive diagnosis is managed conservatively to good effect. This retrospective study demonstrates that conservative management is also effective in paediatric patients. In those cases where symptoms prove intractable, surgical decompression produces clinical improvement.

Correspondence should be addressed to: Mr J. B. Hunter, BSCOS, c/o BOA, The Royal College of Surgeons, 35–43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE.