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Anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) is a painful condition that is thought to arise from entrapment of intercostal nerves as they penetrate the rectus abdominis muscles. In this report, Dutch surgeons present a series of 1100 patients (median age, 42; 78% women) with ACNES who were treated in a specialty clinic during a 5-year period. In each case, the diagnosis was suspected based on findings from a standardized history and physical examination and was confirmed if a lidocaine injection into the maximally tender spot reduced pain by >50%.
ACNES appeared spontaneously in 57% of cases and followed abdominal surgery in 28%. Onset was gradual in about half of cases and was sudden in the others. Median duration of pain before pa…