• Murid Siawash and Robbert Maatman.
• Department of Surgery, Máxima Medical Center, Veldhoven, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.siawash@gmail.com.
• J. Pediatr. Surg. 2017 Mar 1; 52 (3): 478-480.

IntroductionAnterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) is a relatively unknown cause of severe neuralgic abdominal pain. Treatment includes medication, local nerve blocks or, if unresponsive, a neurectomy of nerve endings. In children, the outcome of neurectomy for ACNES is scantly described in retrospective studies. The objective of this first prospective study was to investigate the safety and short term success rate of anterior neurectomy in a large pediatric population with ACNES.MethodsAll children <18years with failed non-surgical treatments for ACNES who underwent an anterior neurectomy in a pediatric surgical referral center between March 2012 and June 2015 were prospectively followed. Patients with previous ACNES surgery were excluded. Primary outcome measures were pain relief and adverse events.Results60 children were included (80% female, mean age 15years±2 SD). 75% had right lower abdominal pain. At first follow-up, 47 children were free of pain (78% success rate). Complications other than an occasional local hematoma were not reported. Outcome was not related to demographics, preoperative pain intensity, pain duration or localization.ConclusionAnterior neurectomy is safe and successful in most children with abdominal pain failing a conservative treatment for ACNES.Type Of StudyTreatment study.Level Of EvidenceIV.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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