Laparoscopic versus open inguinal hernia repair in octogenarians: A follow‐up study

Abstract

In octogenarians, laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair confers a significantly shorter duration of pain and recovery time as compared with open inguinal hernia repair, with no increase in complications. For elderly patients, laparoscopy is a viable alternative to open repair.

Laparoscopic Versus Open Inguinal Hernia Repair

“…58 Some articles report that laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair confers a significantly shorter duration of pain and recovery time, with no increase in complications in this subset. 59,60 For elderly patients, laparoscopy is a viable alternative to open repair. There is some evidence that complications are slightly higher in nonagenarians and careful preoperative work-up should be done in these patients when a laparoscopic approach is used.…”

Laparoscopic Surgery in the Elderly: A Review of the Literature

“…The TEP approach, the more common of the two, uses three laparoscopic incisions in the lower midline in the abdomen, and places a piece of mesh into the defect without entering the peritoneal cavity. The benefits of the laparoscopic approach include improved decreased postoperative pain, decreased risk of chronic pain, and a faster return to work and daily activities [20,21]. However, the initial enthusiasm for the laparoscopic approach has been replaced by a more judicious utilization of the technique, which has been shown to be preferable in recurrent and bilateral inguinal hernias.…”

“…The rate of hernia recurrence after suture (Shouldice) repair is about 10% [20,21]. The placement of mesh (Lichtenstein) for a "tension-free" repair decreases this risk to about 1% [21].…”

“…Inguinal hernia repair remains a divided issue among general surgeons with no significant difference in the quality of repair between open and laparoscopic approaches [20,21]. The open procedure involves a single inguinal incision, usually extending about 10cm in length, and a tension-free "plug and patch" method of herniorraphy [20].…”

“…The open procedure involves a single inguinal incision, usually extending about 10cm in length, and a tension-free "plug and patch" method of herniorraphy [20]. The laparoscopic approach can be either transabdominal (TAP) or extraperitoneal (TEP).…”