Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic versus Open Inguinal Hernia Repair in Children: A 10-year Single-surgeon Study

Aims: The aims of this study were to compare surgical outcomes of conventional open inguinal hernia repair (OR) with laparoscopic repair of inguinal hernia (LR) repair in Indian children operated by a single surgeon. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective (historical) nonrandomized cohort st...

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Main Authors: Amar Shah, Ria Sharma, Anirudh Shah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiaps.jiaps_272_24
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author Amar Shah
Ria Sharma
Anirudh Shah
author_facet Amar Shah
Ria Sharma
Anirudh Shah
author_sort Amar Shah
collection DOAJ
description Aims: The aims of this study were to compare surgical outcomes of conventional open inguinal hernia repair (OR) with laparoscopic repair of inguinal hernia (LR) repair in Indian children operated by a single surgeon. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective (historical) nonrandomized cohort study of 1595 children with unilateral inguinal hernia for 10 years. All children who presented with unilateral inguinal hernia were included in this study. The study was divided into two phases of 5 years each, and patients were classified into Group 1 and Group 2. In the first 5 years (Group 1), all the children with unilateral inguinal hernia underwent conventional open repair. Over the next 5 years (Group 2), all the children with unilateral inguinal hernia underwent laparoscopic repair. All the operations were performed by the same surgeon who was well acquainted with laparoscopic surgery. Parameters studied included gender, side of the hernia, time of surgery, incidence of contralateral patent processus vaginalis (PPV), development of metachronous contralateral hernia, and complications. Results: A total of 1595 children with unilateral inguinal hernia were studied. Nine hundred and forty-five patients underwent OR (Group 1), and 650 patients underwent LR (Group 2). The male-to-female ratio in Group 1 was 2.5:1, and in Group 2 was 2.4:1. Right inguinal hernia was present in 59%, whereas 41% had a left inguinal hernia. In Group 1, 8% of children developed metachronous contralateral hernias. In Group 2, the contralateral processus vaginalis was found to be patent in 260 children. However, only 10% (26) of these children developed metachronous contralateral hernia on follow-up. In the present study, a significantly higher recurrence rate (2.5%) was observed in the LR group as compared to the OR group (0.3%). The overall operative time was lesser in the OR group (15 ± 8.4 min) versus LR group (25 ± 10 min). Conclusions: Only 10% of children with contralateral PPV in our study went on to develop a symptomatic hernia. Hence, we believe that upfront closure of the contralateral PPV with unilateral inguinal hernia may not be necessary. LR has a longer operating time and higher recurrence rates. The choice of technique depends on factors such as the availability of laparoscopic equipment and infrastructure, surgeon’s preference, and expertise.
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spelling doaj-art-71b1f02260b24ebc9fcddabb8bc34ab72025-08-20T02:16:18ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons0971-92611998-38912025-05-0130338238610.4103/jiaps.jiaps_272_24Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic versus Open Inguinal Hernia Repair in Children: A 10-year Single-surgeon StudyAmar ShahRia SharmaAnirudh ShahAims: The aims of this study were to compare surgical outcomes of conventional open inguinal hernia repair (OR) with laparoscopic repair of inguinal hernia (LR) repair in Indian children operated by a single surgeon. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective (historical) nonrandomized cohort study of 1595 children with unilateral inguinal hernia for 10 years. All children who presented with unilateral inguinal hernia were included in this study. The study was divided into two phases of 5 years each, and patients were classified into Group 1 and Group 2. In the first 5 years (Group 1), all the children with unilateral inguinal hernia underwent conventional open repair. Over the next 5 years (Group 2), all the children with unilateral inguinal hernia underwent laparoscopic repair. All the operations were performed by the same surgeon who was well acquainted with laparoscopic surgery. Parameters studied included gender, side of the hernia, time of surgery, incidence of contralateral patent processus vaginalis (PPV), development of metachronous contralateral hernia, and complications. Results: A total of 1595 children with unilateral inguinal hernia were studied. Nine hundred and forty-five patients underwent OR (Group 1), and 650 patients underwent LR (Group 2). The male-to-female ratio in Group 1 was 2.5:1, and in Group 2 was 2.4:1. Right inguinal hernia was present in 59%, whereas 41% had a left inguinal hernia. In Group 1, 8% of children developed metachronous contralateral hernias. In Group 2, the contralateral processus vaginalis was found to be patent in 260 children. However, only 10% (26) of these children developed metachronous contralateral hernia on follow-up. In the present study, a significantly higher recurrence rate (2.5%) was observed in the LR group as compared to the OR group (0.3%). The overall operative time was lesser in the OR group (15 ± 8.4 min) versus LR group (25 ± 10 min). Conclusions: Only 10% of children with contralateral PPV in our study went on to develop a symptomatic hernia. Hence, we believe that upfront closure of the contralateral PPV with unilateral inguinal hernia may not be necessary. LR has a longer operating time and higher recurrence rates. The choice of technique depends on factors such as the availability of laparoscopic equipment and infrastructure, surgeon’s preference, and expertise.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiaps.jiaps_272_24childreninguinal hernialaparoscopic repairopen repair
spellingShingle Amar Shah
Ria Sharma
Anirudh Shah
Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic versus Open Inguinal Hernia Repair in Children: A 10-year Single-surgeon Study
Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons
children
inguinal hernia
laparoscopic repair
open repair
title Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic versus Open Inguinal Hernia Repair in Children: A 10-year Single-surgeon Study
title_full Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic versus Open Inguinal Hernia Repair in Children: A 10-year Single-surgeon Study
title_fullStr Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic versus Open Inguinal Hernia Repair in Children: A 10-year Single-surgeon Study
title_full_unstemmed Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic versus Open Inguinal Hernia Repair in Children: A 10-year Single-surgeon Study
title_short Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic versus Open Inguinal Hernia Repair in Children: A 10-year Single-surgeon Study
title_sort surgical outcomes of laparoscopic versus open inguinal hernia repair in children a 10 year single surgeon study
topic children
inguinal hernia
laparoscopic repair
open repair
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiaps.jiaps_272_24
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AT anirudhshah surgicaloutcomesoflaparoscopicversusopeninguinalherniarepairinchildrena10yearsinglesurgeonstudy