Abstract
Summary. Women complaining of lower abdominal and pelvic pain were tested for the presence of an ilioinguinal nerve entrapment. Forty-six women were considered to fulfill the requirements for this syndrome, five of them bilaterally. In the 51 nerves tested common findings were hyperaesthesia (88%), dysaesthesia (53%) and pain pressure at the nerve exit (75%); hypoaesthesia was rare (6%). A prerequisite for an operation was a positive result of a block with local anaesthesia. Good to excellent results of an operative approach, usually transection of the nerve, were noted after 39 procedures (76%). Some improvement was reported after six procedures whereas the operation had no effect in six others. A probable cause of the neuralgia could be found in only six women. Ilioinguinal nerve entrapment should be considered early in the differential diagnosis of lower abdominal and pelvic pain.