Assessment of chronic pain syndrome after laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal plastic surgery in patients with inguinal hernia

Aim. To assess pain syndrome in patients with inguinal hernia after laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) plastic surgery. Materials and methods. The study involved 58 patients with unilateral Nyhus type 2 and 3 inguinal hernia. The patients underwent laparoscopic TAPP plastic surgery using a mesh implant that was not fixed independently. According to the method of graft fixation, the patients were divided into two groups. In the first patient group, staple fixation of the mesh was applied – 28 (48.3 %), the second group – 30 (51.7 %) patients without mesh fixation. Patients with a history of surgical interventions on the abdominal cavity and pelvis, complicated or recurrent inguinal hernia were excluded from the study. Pain syndrome was assessed using the visual analog scale and an independent survey during postoperative follow-ups of the patients every three months for two years. Results. In the assessment of postoperative pain in the first patient group, moderate pain intensity was noted, and it was minimal in the second group, p < 0.001. 9 (32.1 %) patients who underwent mesh implant fixation required opioid analgesics, compared with 4 (13.3 %) patients who did not undergo fixation, p = 0.043. At the first examination, chronic pain was detected in 6 (21.4 %) patients of the first group and in 3 (10.0 %) patients of the second group. During a year, pain syndrome gradually disappeared. After 9 months, pain was reported by 4 (14.3 %) patients in the group with mesh fixation and by 1 (3.3 %) patient without fixation. At the 6th examination in the first group, 2 (7.1 %) patients reported pain; 1 (3.6 %) patient underwent Lichtenstein hernioplasty due to recurrent, increasing acute pain. Conclusions. Laparoscopic TAPP plastic surgery without graft fixation shows a lower possibility of pain syndrome development than with mesh implant fixation. In the case of chronic pain syndrome development following the TAPP technique without mesh fixation, the general condition of patients improves more quickly.