Chronic Pain Review Following Lichtenstein Hernia Repair: A Personal Series

Introduction: Chronic groin pain is both a topical subject and important outcome measurement following inguinal hernia repair. It has been suggested its incidence is related to the management of the nerves of the inguinal canal as well as the type of mesh used and methods of fixation for both open and laparoscopic surgery. The level of pre-operative and post operative pain, its duration as well as complications may all be factors in predicting whether chronic pain could develop. The method of measurement of chronic pain is itself a contentious issue. It is now apparent that the qualitative measurement of activity and functional status as well as quantitative is important. As a result several uniform methods of assessing chronic post-operative pain have been designed, validated and implemented. One of these is used here. Methods: A study reviewing a consecutive series of Lichtenstein repairs performed by a single experienced hernia surgeon was carried out. 248 inguinal hernia patients operated on in 2005 were reviewed. Patients were contacted via telephone at a median of 50 months. Franneby’s recently validated inguinal pain questionnaire was used to assess the incidence of chronic pain. Results: 185 (75%) patients were able to be contacted for follow-up, making a total of 213 inguinal hernia repairs (including bilateral and recurrent hernias). At the time of review 3% of patients reported having pain. No patients reported that pain or discomfort was limiting their work, exercise or activities of daily living. No patients had disabling pain. Conclusion: Chronic pain did not appear to be a major problem within this cohort of patients. The Lichtenstein technique can produce favourable results in terms of chronic pain for unilateral, bilateral and recurrent inguinal hernias in an unselected group of patients with the usual mix of risk factors and complications.