Arthroscopic Treatment for Femoral Nerve Palsy Associated with Ganglion Cyst of the Hip: A Case Report

INTRODUCTION: There are several case reports of nerve palsy caused by ganglions arising from the hip joint. We herein report the arthroscopic treatment of a patient who presented with femoral numbness due to the compression of the femoral nerve by a ganglion of the hip joint. CASE REPORT: A 61-year-old man presented with a 3-month history of increasing pain in his left groin, and numbness and radiating pain in the anterior and medial thigh caused by a ganglion cyst. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a cyst situated at medial the iliopsoas muscle and tendon. The dimensions of the cyst were 56 mm in the coronal view, 22×24mm in the axial view. The mass, which was compressing the neurovascular bundle, was connected to the hip joint. A ganglion stalk incision was performed using hip arthroscopy, and the pain and numbness disappeared immediately after surgery. At 6months after surgery, the ganglion cyst had almost disappeared. CONCLUSION: It is important to be aware that a ganglion cyst arising from the hip joint may sometimes cause neurological symptoms. The advantage of the arthroscopic procedure that was used in the present case was that the incision site was far from the neurovascular bundle. It was, therefore, safer to perform an arthroscopic stalk incision than it was to perform open surgery.