Day-case herniotomy in children. A comparison of ilio-inguinal nerve block and wound infiltration for postoperative analgesia.

Forty-nine boys scheduled for day-case inguinal herniotomy were studied to compare ilio-inguinal nerve block and wound infiltration for postoperative analgesia. Both techniques were simple to perform and produced no complications. In the ilio-inguinal block group, 100% had either no pain or very mild discomfort when assessed 60 minutes after return to the day unit, compared to 95% in the infiltration group. Some children did appear to have pain following discharge but in all cases this responded well to simple analgesics. We conclude that both techniques provide satisfactory analgesia whilst the complications of narcotics are avoided, and suggest that simple infiltration of the wound with local anaesthetic solution should be encouraged in paediatric anaesthesia.