Robotic Bilateral Sciatic Hernia Repair

Rickesha Wilson, MD

Product Details
Product ID: ACS-6145
Year Produced: 2020
Length: 7 min.


A 77 year-old woman presented to the outpatient surgery office with complaints of 2 years of lower abdominal pain, left buttock pain, and lumbar radiculopathy. Her past surgical history consisted of a cholecystectomy and ERCP. On outpatient physical exam, her abdomen was obese but otherwise benign, and there were noted to be tender bulges over both sciatic notches. CT scan revealed bilateral sciatic hernias with non-obstructed small bowel on the right and sigmoid colon on the left. An MRI of the pelvis also revealed signs of bilateral sciatic nerve compression without any other explanation to explain the patient's radiculopathy. The patient was consented and scheduled for an elective robotic repair. Nerve monitoring was employed during the case, and the patient was positioned supine and in Trendelenburg for much of the case for optimal visualization. The initial camera port was placed in the supraumbilical midline position followed by additional 8mm ports in the right upper and lower quadrants and an assistant 5mm port in the left mid-abdomen. On either side, the ureters, external iliac, and gonadal vessels were identified before entering the preperitoneal space and mobilizing flaps over the sciatic hernia defects. Coated polypropylene mesh was cut to size and placed over the hernia defect and covered with fibrin glue. A V-lock suture was used to reapproximate the peritoneal flaps. There was no ureteral or vascular injury during the case. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and her symptoms have resolved completely up to the present time, one year after surgery.