Chronic pain after inguinal hernia repair has become a major concern. Although tension-free Lichtenstein technique is used and new lightweight meshes have been developed, still up to 40 % of patients complain of some kind of pain even one year after surgery. The necessity of mesh-fixation using sutures, could be causative. However, current data do not provide evidence whether suture fixation in Lichtenstein repair might be the reason for chronic postoperative pain.