Femoral hernias: a register analysis of 588 repairs

Summary

From 1 January 1992 to 31 December 1997 18,281 inguinal hernias and 588 femoral hernias were recorded in the Swedish Hernia Register. The aim of the present study was to characterise these femoral hernias and to evaluate the reoperation rate following their repair. 64% of all femoral hernias were located in the right groin and 36% in the left groin (p < 0.001). The male to female ratio for femoral hernia was 1:1.6; mean ages of patients with femoral and inguinal hernia were 63.4 ± 17.1 and 59.1 ± 16.4 years, respectively (p < 0.001). Emergency surgery and bowel resection at emergency surgery were more common with femoral than with inguinal hernia. The rate of ambulatory surgery was lower for femoral hernia than for inguinal hernia, mainly due to the higher emergency rate for femoral hernia. At three years the cumulative incidence of reoperation was 4.6% (95% confidence interval 2.4–6.8%) for femoral hernia and 4.0% (95% confidence interval 3.6–4.4%) for inguinal hernia (p > 0.05). Male sex and postoperative complications were associated with a significantly increased risk of reoperation following femoral hernia repair. The relative risk of reoperation was not affected by patient age, elective/emergency surgery, primary/recurrent hernia or hernia side. Repair techniques using mesh were associated with a lower reoperation rate than techniques without mesh, although the difference did not reach statistical significance.