Factors predicting chronic pain after open inguinal hernia repair: a regression analysis of randomized trial comparing three different meshes with three fixation methods (FinnMesh Study)

Background Chronic pain after inguinal hernioplasty is the foremost side-effect up to 10–30% of patients. Mesh fixation may influence on the incidence of chronic pain after open anterior mesh repairs. Methods Some 625 patients who underwent open anterior mesh repairs were randomized to receive one of the three meshes and fixations: cyanoacrylate glue with low-weight polypropylene mesh ( n = 216), non-absorbable sutures with partially absorbable mesh ( n = 207) or self-gripping polyesther mesh ( n = 202). Factors related to chronic pain (visual analogue scores; VAS ≥ 30, range 0–100) at 1 year postoperatively were analyzed using logistic regression method. A second analysis using telephone interview and patient records was performed 2 years after the index surgery. Results At index operation, all patient characteristics were similar in the three study groups. After 1 year, chronic inguinal pain was found in 52 patients and after 2 years in only 16 patients with no difference between the study groups. During 2 years’ follow-up, three (0.48%) patients with recurrences and five (0.8%) patients with chronic pain were re-operated. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that only new recurrent hernias and high pain scores at day 7 were predictive factors for longstanding groin pain ( p = 0.001). Type of mesh or fixation, gender, pre-operative VAS, age, body mass index or duration of operation did not predict chronic pain. Conclusion Only the presence of recurrent hernia and early severe pain after index operation seemed to predict longstanding inguinal pain.