Fluorescence-guided inguinal hernia repair with heightened nerve visualization to prevent chronic post-operative...

Iatrogenic injury to the ilioinguinal nerve and its branches during anterior inguinal hernia repair is a cause of chronic inguinal pain in up to 12 % of patients undergoing this operation. The risk of nerve injury is high, given the nerves' relatively small caliber and strictly-confined space through which they pass. In the current report, we describe using a novel fluorescence imaging system developed to detect nerve autofluorescence in a 66-year-old man who presented with a left-sided Type II inguinal hernia and underwent inguinal hernioplasty.

Under general anesthesia, a left inguinal hernioplasty with mesh was performed using the Lichtenstein technique through an anterior approach. During surgery, a Dendrite® Imaging camera (Dendrite® Imaging, Germany) was employed to allow the surgical team to alternate freely between standard operating room (white) light and near-ultraviolet light (NUVL), specifically to enhance visualization of the ilioinguinal nerve and its branches. Under white light, neither the ilioinguinal nerve nor any of its branches were clearly visible. However, under NUVL, all fluoresced brightly and were easily avoided throughout the course of the hernia repair. The operation proceeded with no intraoperative or postoperative complications.

In this case, autofluorescence of the ilioinguinal nerve and its branches under NUVL utilizing a novel, hand-held fluorescent camera during hernia repair aided in their visualization and appeared to help prevent nerve injury.

New intraoperative technology that allows nerves to auto-fluoresce intra-operatively under NUVL warrants larger series and comparative trials to evaluate its efficacy at reducing iatrogenic nerve injury during inguinal hernioplasties.