Clinical findings and results of operative treatment in ilioinguinal nerve entrapment syndrome.

Women complaining of lower abdominal and pelvic pain were tested for the presence of an ilioinguinal nerve entrapment. Forty-six women were considered to fulfill the requirements for this syndrome, five of them bilaterally. In the 51 nerves tested common findings were hyperaesthesia (88%), dysaesthesia (53%) and pain pressure at the nerve exit (75%); hypoaesthesia was rare (6%). A prerequisite for an operation was a positive result of a block with local anaesthesia. Good to excellent results of an operative approach, usually transection of the nerve, were noted after 39 procedures (76%). Some improvement was reported after six procedures whereas the operation had no effect in six others. A probable cause of the neuralgia could be found in only six women. Ilioinguinal nerve entrapment should be considered early in the differential diagnosis of lower abdominal and pelvic pain.