A new, simple operative approach for bilateral inguinal hernia repair in girls: A single transverse supra-pubic incision

BACKGROUND: Inguinal hernia repair remains one of the most common operations performed by pediatric surgeons. We described a new surgical approach for treating bilateral inguinal hernias in girls through a small single transverse supra-pubic incision. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A new approach was performed on female children 12-years-old and younger with bilateral inguinal hernias between January 2005 and April 2012. TECHNIQUE: A single transverse suprapubic incision (1-1.5 cm) was made. Using sharp and blunt dissection bilateral hernias were exposed and repaired using a standard high ligation. RESULTS: Ninety-nine girls with a preoperative clinical diagnosis of bilateral inguinal hernia were included. Median age was 2 years (range: 1 month to 12 years). All patients underwent general anesthesia. Median operative time was 12 minutes (range 5-22). There were no intra-operative complications or misdiagnosis. Two patients had bilateral sliding hernias and the remainder had indirect hernias. Post-operatively two patients developed non-expanding small hematomas, both treated non-operatively without sequelae. There were zero hernia recurrence and median follow-up was 5 years (range: 1-8 years) on 99% of patients. CONCLUSION: We described a new, safe, simple, and rapid approach for bilateral inguinal hernia repair in female pediatric population. A single transverse suprapubic skin incision was adequate for exposing both inguinal regions with excellent postoperative results.