A painless complete abdominal wall palsy with groin and thigh paresthesiae related to traffic accident injury.

Introduction. - No case of complete unilateral abdominal wall palsy, occurring after a traffic accident, was found in the literature data. We report one case. Case report. - A 32-year-old woman was treated for a large abdominal hernia by MESH prosthesis nine years after a traffic accident injury. Surgery led to an iatrogenic lesion of the right lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN). During the electrodiagnostic examination for the LFCN lesion, abdominal wall palsy was diagnosed. Analysis of the patient's history and clinical, electrophysiological, and imaging data revealed that this abdominal wall palsy was related to a tear of the T10 to L2 anterior roots, plexus or nerves, a consequence of the violent deceleration during the car crash. Conclusion. - This report highlights the importance of clinical examination, electrodiagnosis and imaging in diagnosing abdominal wall palsy. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.