Continued Piriformis Pain

[Jackdan]

I have posted before about this question... Can the piriformis be removed or the nerve be re-sectioned.  I have continued pain, 2 surgeries, therapy, etc...  I don't care about any lack of movement I may lose at this point.  I just want to know if there are people who have had their piriformis muscle totally removed.  If so, what was the outcome?  Will this lesson my pain?  Are there any specialists who perform this type of surgery?  I only ask as the pain is becoming totally unbearable.

[Dr Vinod]

Sciatic nerve is compressed as it passes beneath the piriformis muscle on that side and clearly is the result of inflammation of that nerve and this pain.
We advise you to go for partial resection of Piriformis at enlarged part of piriformis muscle and the removal of the offending portions will reveal you of pain and also some surrounding scar tissue can be removed.
Yes, you can go ahead for another surgery if you had one already, try to preserve some part of the muscle or that movement will be lost and it is the only muscle that bridges the sacroiliac joint. Discuss with your surgeon and go with the best course of action.

Besides backache, the piriformis muscle contracture and associated adhesions has been related to radiating pain from the sacrum to the hip joint over the gluteal region to the posterior thigh, dyspareunia (painful intercourse) , male impotency etc.

Take care and come back to us with further queries.

[dustybrown]

Gosh, I hate to sound skeptical, but are you sure you didn't suffer from something entirely different to begin with??? I have a horrible case of sciatica. In fact I've been ailing since I was 17 and now my foot and leg is numb. I found out at age 31 when the doctor finally decided to order an MRI, that I have disc problems, nerve damage, facet disease, scoliosis, etc...

I am now 33. Recently, I've been seeing a PT who says I have the worst piriformis disease he's ever seen. I hate to say it, but if I would have seen him first, or a doctor who performed surgeries like the one you went through...I would have wasted a lot of money and been in worse shape than I am in now. Now, I could be totally wrong though, perhaps your situation was not just like mine.

I am a little jadded because I had a botched surgery on my shoulder, but now I am extremely wary of doctors. My advice to you is to seek a second or even third opinion before considering another surgery. Find the best doctor to "fix" you, do some MAJOR research- don't remove any more of you. I had parts of me removed and now I can hardly move my arm without pain. It *****!

[Dr Vinod]

Once you have gone for surgery, without going conservatively you cannot look back and would need another surgery of the piriformis, if you continue having this problem.

We would not advice complete removal of piriformis as the function will be lost.

At this point we would not want to tell Jackdan to go conservatively as he already had undergone piriformis, partial removal.

The surgeon should explain the pros and cons and the patient should know all the do's and dont's.

Take care!