Turkish Neurosurgery
2013 , Vol 23 , Num 6
Variable Origin and Ramification Pattern of the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve: A Case Report and Neurosurgical Considerations
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Anatomy, Thessaloniki, Greece
DOI :
10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.6734-12.0
Variations in the anatomy of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) have been reported in the literature. LFCN is vulnerable to injury
during several surgical operations, therefore any surgeon intervening in the area should be familiar to its topographic variability. Lesion of
the nerve leads to a condition known as “meralgia paresthetica”. We present a cadaveric case of a variant LFCN where two LFCN branches
were encountered arising from the lumbar plexus. In specific the anterior LFCN branch originated from the femoral nerve, whereas at the
level of the inguinal ligament, four nerve branches were present. The existence of multiple LFCN branches could lead to diagnostic confusion
in case of “meralgia paresthetica”, while if the neurosurgeon is not aware of the potential variability during surgical decompression of the
nerve, postoperative complications may occur. The supernumerary LFCN branches could be identified by ultrasound imaging and be used as
optimum vascularized grafts for sensory nerve repair.
Keywords :
Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, Multiple branches, Origin, Femoral nerve, Meralgia paresthetica, Nerve grafting