Laparoscopic Totally Extraperitoneal Hernia Repairs: a Case Series Analysis

Abstract

Traditionally, inguinal hernias have been treated with open Lichtenstein hernioplasty. But in the last 2 decades, the trends have changed with the introduction of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair techniques mainly by totally extraperitoneal herniorrhaphy. This was a case series analysis of 160 consecutive patients who underwent totally extraperitoneal repair and were included accrual between January 2015 and August 2018 in our single tertiary center. Patient demographics, details of the surgery, postoperative Visual Analogue Scale, return time to work, early and late postoperative complications, recurrence, and chronic pain were evaluated. A hundred seventy-eight repairs were performed in the study cohort (median age, 46.3 years; range, 22–84 years; men, 93%). The mean follow-up was 15 months (range = 12–30). Mean hospital stay time was 22.6 h (range 15–27). The mean surgery time was 55 min (range 35–110). Second day postoperative mean Visual Analogue Scale was 2.3 (range 1–5). The mean return time to their routine work was 8.3 days (range 5–17). Seroma (10%), scrotal pain (9%), scrotal paresthesia (6%), and hydrocele (6%) were the most commonly noted complications. Recurrence was detected in 4 (2.5%) patients. Recurrences were noted at 1st week and 6th month following surgery. Chronic groin pain was reported by 4 (2.5%) patients. Totally extraperitoneal hernia repair has become increasingly applicable among surgeons due to less postoperative pain, short return time to routine work, acceptably few complications, and recurrence rates compared with the other inguinal herniorrhaphy techniques.