Laparoscopic repair of inguinal hernia: Prospective evaluation at a tertiary care center

Background: Treatment of groin hernias continues to evolve. The emergence of laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery has challenged the conventional gold standard Lichtenstein’s tension free mesh repair. Laparoscopic technique to achieve surgical correction over groin hernia is increasingly being practiced in our country, and it is imperative to test the overall outcome of this technique in a tertiary care setting. Objectives: Current study was aimed at evaluating the per-operative events, early and late outcomes of laparoscopic groin hernia repair techniques. End points of evaluation were postoperative pain, hospital stay, resumption of normal activities, chronic pain and recurrence. Methods: Within a 2-year period, 45 patients of groin hernias of different clinical types underwent laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in Bangladesh Medical College Hospital were recruited in this prospective observational study. Preoperative findings, intraoperative course, postoperative and follow-up data were analyzed to evaluate the outcomes. Observations were made regarding operating time, operative hazards, postoperative pain, incidence of early post-operative morbidities, hospital stay, resumption of activities. Total 24 months follow-up was carried out with regards to normal activity, late complications notably chronic groin pain and recurrence. Results: The mean age of 38.1±11.1 years, 27(60%) patients underwent TEP repair whereas, TAPP procedure was carried out in 18 patients (40%). For unilateral hernia repair using TEP technique, mean operative time was 50.3±4.2 mints and 61.7±5.3 mints for direct and indirect variety (D/I), with the corresponding rates for TAPP repair being 65.0±2.2 mints and 72.8±3.2 mints (D/I) respectively. Conversion rate to other operative procedure was 6.67%. The overall surgery related early post-operative morbidity was 7.4% (TEP) and 16.8% (TAPP). 3 out of 45 patients (6.67%) experienced chronic pain in the groin in the study. However, there was no single incidence of recurrence observed during the follow up period. Conclusion: Laparoscopic groin hernia repair techniques are safe and feasible, offers the benefits of minimally invasive surgery and becoming the procedure of choice specially for bilateral and recurrent inguinal hernias. Journal of Surgical Sciences (2019) Vol. 23(2): 54-58