Incidence of postoperative complications in transabdominal preperitoneal repair for groin hernia is influenced by poor performance status rather than by old age

AIM: The present study was designed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) repair for very old patients with groin hernia and to identify the risk factors predicting perioperative complications. METHODS: A total of 140 patients treated by TAPP were reviewed retrospectively. They were divided into two groups: patients ≥80 years of age (≥80 years group; n = 26) and those <80 years of age (<80 years group; n = 114). Patient characteristics and surgical outcomes were then statistically compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Number of patients with any comorbidities was significantly higher in the ≥80 years group than in the <80 years group (96.2% vs 61.4%, P = 0.003). There were no significant differences in surgical outcomes between the two groups. In the univariate analysis of perioperative complications, poor performance status (PS) (P = 0.014), lower hemoglobin level (P = 0.038) and lower albumin level (P = 0.016) were significantly associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications, and multivariate analysis showed that only poor PS was an independent factor (PS 0‐2 vs 3‐4: P = 0.034, OR 5.192 [95% CI; 1.137 to 23.71]). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report to show that the incidence of postoperative complications in TAPP repair for groin hernia is influenced by poor PS rather than old age. TAPP can be a safe surgical procedure for very old patients with a good PS, with benefits that are equal to those in young patients.