Classifying Postherniorrhaphy Pain Syndromes Following Elective Inguinal Hernia Repair

Excerpt

Persistent postoperative pain (allodynia, hyperalgesia) should disappear 3 months after surgery, when complete tissue healing has taken place. Postoperative pain that persists after this time is classified as chronic pain. Chronic pain is a serious clinical problem that leads to depression in 49% of sufferers, time off work in nearly one-half, and permanent loss of work in one-fourth. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized that pain treatment is a human right [1]. The management of postherniorrhaphy chronic pain is not well organized because the basic causes are poorly understood. Uniform assessments that could lead to well defined management protocols are not available, nor are well defined criteria available for pain characteristics and neurophysiologic sensory disturbances [2]. Although there is extensive literature on chronic pain after hernia surgery, a lack of uniformity for classifying the condition has resulted in confusion over the basic principles of treatment [3]. For these reasons, the study by Loos and colleagues is an important contribution to the hernia literature. …