Short-term comparative study of three-dimensional and two-dimensional laparoscopic surgery for total extraperitoneal primary inguinal hernia repair

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the short-term outcomes of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) laparoscopic surgery for total extraperitoneal (TEP) primary inguinal hernia repair. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective, observational database study of 38 patients who underwent laparoscopic TEP inguinal hernia repair from March 1, 2019 to August 30, 2019 at Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong in Seoul, Korea. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in sex ratio, age, or body mass index between the two groups. The 2D group had two patients with direct hernia and 18 patients with indirect hernia. The 3D group had five patients with direct hernia, 11 patients with indirect hernia, and two patients with femoral hernia. The mean operation time was 38.2 minutes in the 2D group compared with 37.2 minutes in the 3D group. There was no severe intraoperative bleeding in either group. During the operation, peritoneal tearing occurred in 12 out of 20 patients in the 2D group compared with five out of 18 patients in the 3D group (p = 0.02). The average length of hospital stay was 1.3 days in both groups. The numeric rating scale score was 3.3 and 3 in the 2D group and the 3D group, respectively. In the 2D group, two patients revisited the outpatient clinic because of the postoperative occurrence of seroma and varicocele. CONCLUSION: A 3D laparoscopic surgery is feasible and safe for inguinal hernia repair and showed less peritoneal tearing compared with 2D laparoscopic surgery for primary inguinal hernia repair.