No 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 evidencebased 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.

No abstract

The recommended surgical treatment for chronic neuropathic pain after herniorrhaphy has been a two-stage operation including: (a) ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric neurectomies through an inguinal approach and (b) genital nerve neurectomy through a flank approach. Two hundred twenty-five patients underwent triple neurectomies with proximal end implantation to treat chronic postherniorrhaphy neuralgia. Four patients reported no improvement. Eighty percent of patients recovered completely, and 15% had transient insignificant pain with no functional impairment. These results are comparable to the results of the two-stage operation. Simultaneous neurectomy of the ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric, and genital nerves without mobilization of the spermatic cord is an effective one-stage procedure to treat postherniorrhaphy neuralgia. It can be performed under local anesthesia and avoids testicular complications. Proximal end implantation of the nerves prevents adherence of the cut ends to the aponeurotic structures of the groin, which can result in recurrence of the pain. A one-stage surgical procedure resecting all three nerves from an anterior approach avoids a second operation through the flank and successfully treats chronic neuralgia.

The value of the use of biomaterials for the repair of abdominal wail hernias is gaining increasing recognition. The use of synthetic mesh to achieve a tension-free repair has resulted in a significant reduction in postoperative pain, in length of the recovery period, and in the number of recurrences. However, certain physical properties of biomaterials can lead to undesirable consequences. These include increased risk of infection, seroma formation, biomaterial-related intestinal obstruction, and fistula formation and failure of repair due to shrinkage of the mesh. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the mechanism of these problems with special emphasis on pore size, molecular permeation and shrinkage of biomaterials and their effects on infection, seroma formation, and recurrence of mesh repair of abdominal wall hernias.

To circumvent the degenerative nature of inguinal hernias and adverse effect of suture line tension, the Lichtenstein tension-free hernioplasty began in 1984 and evolved (between 1984 and 1988) to a procedure that is now considered the gold standard of hernia repair by the American College of Surgeons. The objective of this paper is to outline the reasons behind the minor changes made during the short, 4-year evolution of the technique, describe the key principles of the operation, and introduce a new mesh that, if elected to be used, automatically satisfies all the key principles of the procedure and guides the surgeon to perform the operation correctly. The worldwide reported result of the operation by experts and nonexperts alike is a recurrence and complication rate of less than 1%. When the key principles of the procedure, which, as reported by many authors, are easy to learn, perform, and teach, are respected, the operation results in an effectiveness (external validation) that is virtually the same as its efficacy (results of the experts), attesting to the simplicity of the procedure.

ObjectiveThe authors introduce a simple six-step infiltration technique that results in satisfactory local anesthesia and prolonged postoperative analgesia, requiring a maximum of 30 to 40 mL of local anesthetic solution. Summary Background DataFor the last 20 years, more than 12,000 groin hernia repairs have been performed under local anesthesia at the Lichtenstein Hernia Institute. Initially, field block was the mean of achieving local anesthesia. During the last 5 years, a simple infiltration technique has been used because the field block was more time consuming and required larger volume of the local anesthetic solution. Furthermore, because of the blind nature of the procedure, it did not always result in satisfactory anesthesia and, at times, accidental needle puncture of the ilioinguinal nerve resulted in prolonged postoperative pain, burning, or electric shock sensation within the field of the ilioinguinal nerve innervation. MethodsMore than 12,000 patients underwent operations in a private practice setting in general hospitals. ResultsFor 2 decades, more than 12,000 adult patients with reducible groin hernias satisfactorily underwent operations under local anesthesia without complications. ConclusionsThe preferred choice of anesthesia for all reducible adult inguinal hernia repair is local. It is safe, simple, effective, and economical, without postanesthesia side effects. Furthermore, local anesthesia administered before the incision produces longer postoperative analgesia because local infiltration, theoretically, inhibits build-up of local nociceptive molecules and, therefore, there is better pain control in the postoperative period.The preferred choice of anesthesia for all reducible because local infiltration, theoretically, inhibits build-up adult inguinal hernia repair is local. It is safe, simple, of local nociceptive molecules and, therefore, there is effective, and economical, without postanesthesia side better pain control in the postoperative period. Experieffects. Furthermore, local anesthesia administered be-mental studies have demonstrated that peripheral tissue fore the incision produces longer postoperative analgesia injury may result in long-lasting changes in central pro-735

This article focuses special attention on the porosity, cellular permeability and molecular permeability of biomaterials and their effect on infection, host tissue incorporation and seroma formation when mesh is used for the repair of abdominal wall hernias. Furthermore, the general principles of the application of biomaterials, regardless of the technique used for their employment, is discussed.