Outcomes of Open Versus Laparoscopic Technique in Primary Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Retrospective Study

Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most common surgical procedures worldwide. In clinical practice, there are two different routes to repair inguinal hernias: laparoscopic mesh repair and open. Reducing the hernia and preventing recurrence remains the mainstay treatment option of both procedures. This study aims to compare postoperative outcomes and recurrence rates for patients who had primary, non-recurrent, laparoscopic, or open hernia repair in a single tertiary hospital. A retrospective cohort study was done on 468 patients. The study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) between 2013 and 2022. The distribution of our study population was divided into open hernia repair 378 participants (80.8%) while the rest did laparoscopic hernia repair 90 (19.2%). Operation duration in minutes was 107.158 ± 41.402 in the open hernia repair group and was noted to be significantly higher in the laparoscopic hernia repair group, with 142.811 ± 52.102 minutes p-value (0.000). The hospital length of stay was shown to be shorter in laparoscopic hernia repair (1.58 ±1.27) compared to open hernia repair (2.05±5.33). The most common postoperative complication was scrotal swelling, commonly associated with laparoscopic (5.55%) compared to 2.11% in open hernia repair. Open repair showed a risk of scrotal hematoma with a percentage of 0.52% compared to 0% in the laparoscopic method with a p-value (0.033). Hernia recurrence was non-related with any specific group, although noted to be higher in the laparoscopic group (7.77%), while in the open group (3.4%) with a p-value (0.081). The study conducted showed no alarming percentages for recurrence in either technique, open or laparoscopic, yet the open approach had a better outcome when it comes to scrotal pain and swelling post-operatively, chronic groin pain, and readmission rate as compared to laparoscopic technique, despite having a longer hospital stay. Future larger studies should be conducted to provide equal population inclusivity.