Anand Shanmugaiah1 , Saravanan Pandian2
BACKGROUND Chronic groin pain is a significant clinical problem in patients undergoing open hernia repair which interferes with daily activities. Traditional surgical technique dictates preservation of nerve; however, recent studies have shown that excision of nerve during hernia repair was associated with lower incidence of chronic groin pain. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of prophylactic ilioinguinal neurectomy in reducing chronic groin pain following open hernia repair. METHODS 110 patients undergoing hernioplasty for inguinal hernia were divided into two groups. In group A, there were 55 patients who were subjected to prophylactic ilioinguinal neurectomy and in group B there were 55 patients in whom preservation of ilioinguinal nerve was done during the hernia repair. Patients were followed up at 1 month and 6 months following surgery to assess the incidence of chronic groin pain and pain during daily activities. RESULTS At 1 month follow up there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding incidence of chronic groin pain or pain during daily activities. However, the incidence of chronic groin pain was significantly lower in Group A compared to Group B at 6 months follow up. CONCLUSIONS Prophylactic ilioinguinal neurectomy during open hernia surgery significantly reduces the incidence of chronic groin pain without any morbidity.
