Surgical management of chronic inguinal pain syndromes - Liespijn

INTRODUCTIONWorldwide, many patients are affected by chronic pain after ‘routine’ inguinal herniarepair 1 . Determining the specifics of this chronic pain may be challenging. Recently, aclassification identifying three, separate, pain syndromes was proposed by our group ofinvestigators 2 . First, pain of neuropathic origin (also termed neuralgia) is demonstratedin about half of the patients. They present with a sharp pain that irradiates to the scrotum,upper leg, or back. Symptoms usually appear immediately after the hernia repair,but a delayed presentation may also occur. Physical examination reveals neurophysiologicabnormalities, including hyper-/ hypoesthesia or allodynia with a trigger pointusually situated in proximity to the incision. Diagnostic nerve blocks with a short-actinganaesthetic agent confirm the diagnosis 2 . At operative exploration, inguinal nerves(iliohypogastric, ilioinguinal or genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve) may be found‘entrapped’ by suture material or encased in fibrosis. A traumatic neuroma may be identifiedon histologic examination 2 .Second, about 25% of the population may harbor non-neuropathic pain syndromesincluding pubic periostitis, mechanical irritation due to wadded mesh (‘meshoma’) 3 ,recurrent inguinal hernias, or musculoskeletal overcompensation. Suture material penetratingperiostal layers of the pubic tubercle may result in a chronic inflammatory state 3 .Third, the remaining quarter of the affected patients presents with diffuse pain situatedin proximity of the spermatic cord without signs of nerve entrapment (‘funiculodynia’) 2 .This latter syndrome may be related to venous congestion or mesh-related inflammationof the spermatic cord.A combination of neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain syndromes is not uncommon.A number of conservative treatment modalities has been proposed for postoperativeinguinal neuralgia, including nerve blocks 4 , medication, Transcutaneous Electric NeuroStimulation (TENS), or capsaicin crème 5 . Data on the efficacy of these modalities,however, are scarce. Patients with refractory pain may undergo operative exploration ofthe groin. Long-term pain relief in small studies is found between 60 to 100% afterneurectomy 3,6-12 . The aim of the present study was to assess whether a selective operativeneurectomy provides satisfactory results for postherniorrhaphy inguinal neuralgia.ANATOMY AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGYKnowledge on inguinal neuroanatomy is crucial. There are four inguinal nerves, theiliohypogastric, ilioinguinal, genitofemoral, and lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. As thelatter is only at risk during laparoscopic hernia repair, it will not further be discussed. Thefollowing neuroanatomy will apply in most patients, but anatomic variations areexceedingly common 3,13 .The iliohypogastic nerve arises from T12/ L1 and runs ventrally from the quadratus lumborummuscle and gradually pierces the various layers of the abdominal wall. It may beinjured accidentally during dissection or may become encased in fibrotic tissue orsuture material after mesh fixation. The ilioinguinal nerve originates from the samevertebral level and travels a similar course a few centimetres caudal from the Iliohypogastricnerve. It is damaged easily during opening of the inguinal canal or dissection ofthe spermatic cord, or it may be entrapped by closing of the external oblique aponeurosisor encased by fibrotic tissue after mesh implantation later on. The genitofemoralnerve originates from L1/ L2 and pierces the iliopsoas muscle where it lies on its ventralsurface. The genitofemoral nerve demonstrates a clear division into a genital andfemoral branch some several centimetres proximal to the inguinal ligament. The genitalbranch runs posterior to the spermatic cord and is at risk during spermatic corddissection, or may be caught by constriction at the internal ring or by perineural fibrosis.Moreover, the main trunk with its branches can also be harmed by a laparoscopicallyplaced preperitoneal mesh. Its inguinal segment can be injured if fixating devicespenetrate through the transversal fascia and entrap the nerve.PATIENT AND METHODSA database search was performed identifying all consecutive patients treated by thesenior authors (M.S. and R.R.) who underwent a neurectomy for postherniorrhaphyinguinal neuralgia in the Máxima Medical Center (MMC, Veldhoven, The Netherlands)between January 2003 and June 2008. Our hospital is a 865-bed hospital in theSoutheastern part accommodating some 350.000 individuals. The yearly number ofprimary inguinal hernia repairs is about 500. Most patients with postherniorrhaphyinguinal neuralgia were treated according to a previously published algorithm 14 . Inclusioncriteria were unilateral inguinal hernia repair and >3 months of pain associatedwith the operative procedure. Patients treated for non-neuropathic pain syndromesexclusively (pubic periostitis, meshoma) were excluded. All medical and surgical recordswere obtained to determine the duration of pain symptoms, type of inguinal herniarepair and previous pain treatments (e.g. nerve blocks, neurectomies, pain medication).Findings on physical examination including neurophysiologic abnormalities and triggerpoints were assessed. Special attention was paid to the palliative effect of nerve blocksand imaging modalities (CT/ MRI). Finally, diagnosis as well as number of operativeinterventions, postoperative complications, and histopathologic findings were tabulated.Operative techniqueAll patients were offered operation using spinal or general anaesthesia in a day-caresetting. They received 5.000 IU of low molecular heparin (Fragmin®, Pfizer bv, Capelle82 Chapter 6Tailored neurectomy for treatment of postherniorrhaphy inguinal neuralgia 83