Decreasing prevalence of chronic pain after laparoscopic groin hernia repair: a nationwide cross-sectional questionnaire study.

PURPOSE: Up to 6-7% of patients who have undergone laparoscopic groin hernia repair suffer from chronic pain, depending on various factors; however, the long-term course is unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of chronic pain 1-5 years after laparoscopic groin hernia repair.

METHODS: The subjects of this nationwide cross-sectional questionnaire study were adults who underwent laparoscopic mesh repair of an inguinal or a femoral hernia. The patients were identified from the Danish Hernia Database, which has a follow-up rate of almost 100%. The prevalence of chronic pain was assessed 1-5 years postoperatively by the validated inguinal pain questionnaire (IPQ).

RESULTS: A total of 1383 groins were included in this study, based on a 66% response rate to the questionnaire. The prevalence of pain decreased, especially 3.5 years postoperatively. There were no statistically significant differences when each postoperative year was compared with the second postoperative year. However, the prevalence of chronic pain 3.5-5 years postoperatively was significantly lower (4.4%) than that 1-3.5 years postoperatively (8.1%) (p = 0.014). The prevalence of pain that could not be ignored was still 5-6% in the fifth postoperative year.

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of chronic pain seems to decline 1-5 years after laparoscopic groin hernia repair, with a distinct decrease 3.5 years postoperatively.