After 10 years and 1903 inguinal hernias, what is the outcome for the laparoscopic repair?

Background: The procedure of choice for inguinal hernia repair has remained controversial for decades. The laparoscopic approach has now been utilized for more than 10 years, and a significant volume of patient outcomes is now available for review. Methods: The hospital and office records of 1388 patients who underwent 1903 laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs at Atlanta Medical Center during the past 10 years were retrospectively reviewed in order to determine demographics, recurrence rate, and complications. In addition, 123 hernia repairs were prospectively studied in 71 patients during this time period in order to accurately evaluate postoperative pain and return to activity. Results: Two hundred fifty-five (13.4%) hernias were recurrent and 1648 (86.6%) were primary. Five hundred and fifteen (37.1%) hernias were bilateral. The total extraperitoneal approach was utilized for 1561 (82.0%) of the 1903 repairs. The average operative time was 75.4 (14-193) minutes. Estimated blood loss was 22.0 (0-250) ml. Seventeen patients (1.2%) were converted to an open form of hernia repair. Minor complications occurred in 83 (6.0%) patients and major complications occurred in 18 (1.3%) patients. Conclusions: The laparoscopic approach is a safe form of inguinal hernia repair that offers the patient a shorter and less painful recovery with an extremely low recurrence rate.