[The bikini incision: nice, but not without painful complications].

The low transverse abdominal incision, described by Pfannenstiel, is, mostly because of its decent scar, the incision of choice for most gynaecological operations. Making this incision, the ilioinguinal nerve and the iliohypogastric nerve can be involved. In many cases this causes a lasting numbness in the region around the scar. Some patients have a lasting, radiating, invalidating pain, which can be relieved surgically.