ABSTRACT
The diagnosis of chronic abdominal pain due to abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment can be elusive. Tenderness in patients with abdominal pain is naturally assumed to be of either peritoneal or visceral origin. Studies have shown that some patients suffer from prolonged pain in the abdominal wall and are often misdiagnosed, even after unnecessary and expensive diagnostic tests, including potentially dangerous invasive procedures, and treated as having a visceral source for their complaints, even in the presence of negative X-ray findings and atypical symptoms. Abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome is rarely diagnosed, which is possibly due to failure to recognize the condition rather than the lack of occurrence. The accepted treatment for abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome is a local injection, with infiltration of anesthetic agents coupled with steroids. Careful history taking and physical examination, in conjunction with the use of trigger zone injections, can advocate the diagnosis of abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment and preclude any unnecessary workup of these patients. Herein, 3 cases of abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome, which were successfully treated with local anesthetics and steroid, are reported.