Chronic groin pain, are we aware of this complication?

Abstract

Inguinal hernia (IH) surgery is one of the most common procedures in the practice of the general surgeon. With adoption of tension-free technique and synthetic mesh implantation, recurrence rates decreased and recurrence is no longer the main late complication after IH repair. Currently, the main late postoperative complication of IH repair is chronic postoperative inguinal pain (CPIP). CPIP is defined as postoperative pain in the inguinal region persisting 3-6 months after surgery. We report the case of a young male patient who presented with CPIP after having undergone two inguinal hernia repairs. Initially, he had left inguinal pain without evident bulging and underwent left inguinal herniorrhaphy using the Lichtenstein technique. There was no relief of pain after surgery. After 1 year, he underwent surgery again, this time bilaterally and unfortunately the pain got worse. He had predominantly neuropathic pain (burning and irradiated to the testicular region bilaterally) and moderate intensity (visual analogue scale 6) refractory to medical management. He had hyperesthesia on the territory of the genitofemoral, iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerves on the left side and hypoesthesia in the territory of the three nerves on the right side. A local anesthetic inguinal block provided temporary relief. We performed a bilateral triple neurectomy with removal of the polypropylene mesh. Followed up one year after surgical treatment, the patient remains without inguinal pain.