Flu-like symptoms following botulinum toxin A application before incisional hernia repair: A case report

Abstract

Botulinum toxin has been used for the treatment of numerous medical conditions. Recently, preoperative botulinum toxin A (BTA) injections into the lateral abdominal wall muscles are beneficial for facilitating ventral hernia repairs and improving surgical outcomes. Early and late, local and systemic adverse effects of BTA application have been described, some of them are flu-like symptoms (FLS). However, no case of FLS following botulinum toxin injections before ventral hernia repair has been described. In this report, we present a 58-year-old female patient who developed FLS episodes throughout preoperative and postoperative periods following BTA injections.