Functional implications of long-term pain following outpatient inguinal herniorrhaphy--a prospective evaluation.

Background: The purpose of the present study is to assess pain and functional outcomes at 1 y following inguinal herniorrhaphy in which patients were randomized to receive a continuous wound infusion of bupivacaine to receiving a saline infusion.

Methods: Patients received saline or bupivacaine prior to incision and then for 60 h postoperatively. The incidence, severity, and functional interference of pain were assessed for five postoperative days, and at 1 y.

Results: Seventy patients completed a survey 1 y following herniorrhaphy. Four percent (3/72) of patients were in moderate to severe pain "almost always" or "often". Twenty-one percent (15/72) of patients experienced pain with ambulation. There was no difference between groups at 1 y.

Conclusions: The incidence of moderate or severe pain is concerning 1 y following surgery. Functional aberrations associated with pain should be assessed in all studies evaluating long-term pain after herniorrhaphy.