Herpetic Sciatica

Opening of the article

Lumbosacral disc lesion is the commonest cause of Sciatica. Generally, clinicians equate sciatica with disc lesion forgetting the other causes for shooting pain radiating below the knee. The pyriform syndrome is an example of a non-disc condition producing sciatica. We hereby highlight the case of a patient whose symptoms were misdiagnosed initially as disc related sciatica because the first examiner failed to notice the classical vescicles in dermatomal distribution. A careful history and a meticulous evaluation with regular follow up examination is essential in evaluation of patients with sciatica.