Spectrum of abdominal anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) with successful management: a case report

• DOI: 10.1007/s40477-024-00881-0
• Publication Date: 2024-06-21T08:01:58Z
• Authors: Prableen Kaur Chatha; Elena Drakonaki; Perumandla Mohan Rao; Rajesh Botchu; Gaurav Kant Sharma

Abdominal pain is a common symptom with a spectrum of causes. Anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) is a commonly overlooked and underdiagnosed cause for anterior abdominal pain. Among the patients of chronic abdominal wall pain, the incidence of ACNES is 10-30% and the most common cause is nerve entrapment at the lateral border of the rectus muscle. We describe two cases covering varied location of entrapment, one at the medial border of rectus and another at lateral border explaining the need of ultrasound for successful management of both. This case report illustrates the difficulty of making this diagnosis, utility of ultrasound and a brief review of literature.