Meralgia paresthetica occurring 40 years after iliac bone graft harvesting: Case report

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Meralgia paresthetica is an entrapment neuropathy involving the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. We describe an unusual case in which meralgia paresthetica occurred many years after iliac bone graft harvesting. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: An 81-year-old man presented with a 1-year history of pain, dysesthesia, and hypesthesia in the anterolateral aspect of the right thigh. This patient had undergone iliac bone grafting when he sustained a calcaneal fracture 40 years previously. Radiographs and computed tomographic scans of the pelvis revealed a bony excrescence in the anterosuperior iliac spine. INTERVENTION: The patient underwent neurolysis of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve and excision of the bony excrescence. At surgery, the nerve was densely adherent to the bony excrescence. CONCLUSION: The etiology of meralgia paresthetica in this patient is considered to be heterotopic ossification on the anterosuperior iliac spine and pubic symphysis degeneration. A significant relationship between pubic symphysis degeneration with increasing age and meralgia paresthetica has been reported. One should be aware of meralgia paresthetica as a late complication of iliac bone graft harvesting.