Treatment of Steroid-Induced Lipoatrophy Following Transverse Abdominis Plane Block With Serial Intralesional...

A transverse abdominis plane (TAP) block is one option in the management of chronic groin pain after inguinal hernia repair. Steroid-induced lipoatrophy following local injection is an infrequent complication of this procedure, but can be distressing to patients when it does occur. A 36-year-old male patient of ours sustained this rare procedural complication and underwent successful reversal of the lipoatrophy through serial intralesional isotonic saline injections. The serial intralesional injection of isotonic saline is technically simple and may be an effective means of treating lipoatrophy. Pain specialists may opt to treat this procedural complication rather than refer to dermatology.