Deep Gluteal Syndrome: Diagnostic Assessment and Surgical Treatment of Non-discogenic Sciatica in Our Experience

Abstract

Deep gluteal syndrome (DGS) is a term applied to a medical condition consisting of pain and paresthesias radiating from the buttock area along the sciatic nerve territory and not related to a discogenic etiology. The spectrum of pathologies related to non discogenic sciatica is wide. Thus, this syndrome is a complex clinical entity that was difficult to diagnose at least until recent times, when new imaging modalities offered the possibility to investigate the lumbosacral plexus and the intrapelvic/subgluteal course of the sciatic nerve. A thorough diagnostic assessment has resulted in the detection of myriads of causative pathologies, many of which are amenable of surgical treatment with favorable outcome. In this work, the authors present their experience in the management and surgical treatment of DGS and review its different etiologies