In order to document functional outcome, we followed fourteen patients
who had an injury of the sciatic nerve associated with a displaced
acetabular fracture for a mean of twenty-seven months. In three of the
patients, the injury was iatrogenic. Electromyography was useful in the
localization and determination of the severity of the injury. According to
the functional scale that was used, all but one patient had a satisfactory
(fair or better) functional outcome, but eleven patients had residual
neurological sequelae that ranged from minor paresthesia to footdrop. Seven
patients who had an injury of both the tibial and peroneal divisions of the
sciatic nerve had complete or nearly complete motor and sensory recovery of
the tibial component. The patients who had isolated, mild involvement of
the peroneal nerve had a favorable prognosis, but those who had a severe
injury of the peroneal component, whether it was isolated or associated
with an injury of the tibial component, did not recover good function.