Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Practice Guideline
. 2011 Jun;15(3):239-49.
doi: 10.1007/s10029-011-0798-9. Epub 2011 Mar 2.

International guidelines for prevention and management of post-operative chronic pain following inguinal hernia surgery

Practice Guideline

International guidelines for prevention and management of post-operative chronic pain following inguinal hernia surgery

S Alfieri et al. Hernia. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: To provide uniform terminology and definition of post-herniorrhaphy groin chronic pain. To give guidelines to the scientific community concerning the prevention and the treatment of chronic groin and testicular pain.

Methods: A group of nine experts in hernia surgery was created in 2007. The group set up six clinical questions and continued to work on the answers, according to evidence-based literature. In 2008, an International Consensus Conference was held in Rome with the working group, with an audience of 200 participants, with a view to reaching a consensus for each question.

Results: A consensus was reached regarding a definition of chronic groin pain. The recommendation was to identify and preserve all three inguinal nerves during open inguinal hernia repair to reduce the risk of chronic groin pain. Likewise, elective resection of a suspected injured nerve was recommended. There was no recommendation for a procedure on the resected nerve ending and no recommendation for using glue during hernia repair. Surgical treatment (including all three nerves) should be suggested for patients who do not respond to no-surgery pain-management treatment; it is advisable to wait at least 1 year from the previous herniorraphy.

Conclusion: The consensus reached on some open questions in the field of post-herniorrhaphy chronic pain may help to better analyze and compare studies, avoid sending erroneous messages to the scientific community, and provide some guidelines for the prevention and treatment of post-herniorraphy chronic pain.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Pain. 2005 Dec 5;118(3):289-305 - PubMed
    1. Hernia. 2004 Dec;8(4):343-9 - PubMed
    1. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003 Dec;189(6):1574-8; discussion 1578 - PubMed
    1. Br J Surg. 2007 Jul;94(7):914; author reply 914-5 - PubMed
    1. Pain. 2008 Jul;137(1):173-181 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources