Intraoperative and postoperative complications of totally extraperitoneal laparoscopic inguinal hernioplasty

Inguinal hernioplasty using extraperitoneal laparoscopy is a new surgical option but still controversial because of the great technical difficulty involved. To analyze the clinical factors that could be related to intraoperative and postoperative morbidity, a prospective study was performed of 131 patients (153 repairs) undergoing totally extraperitoneal endoscopic surgery for inguinal hernia in an Outpatient Surgery Unit. Clinical parameters (age, sex, associated diseases, prior abdominal surgery, site and type), intraoperative complications (detachment of epigastric vessels, preperitoneal bleeding, rupture of the peritoneal sac, subcutaneous emphysema, problems with extending the mesh, visceral or deferential lesions, and rate of reconversion), postoperative complications (haematomas, urinary retention, transitory pain, neuralgias, and infections), and rate of recurrence were evaluated. Follow-up averaged 18 months (range, 1-3 years) and was complete in 100% of the patients. Intraoperative morbidity was 47%; postoperative, 16%; and the rate of reconversion, 4%. The rate of readmissions was 0%. One patient underwent reoperation for suspected early recurrence. The following statistically significant relations were shown: bleeding to recurrent hernias; presence of pain to hematomas; peritoneal rupture to female sex, diabetes, prior infraumbilical surgery and bilateral site; detachment of epigastric vessels to absence of prior surgery and hernia type 3a; and hematomas to age older than 50 years (P < 0.05). The preperitoneal laparoscopic technique is a difficult surgical operation, which often requires added interventions to resolve unexpected problems. The complications are acceptable, and the rate of recurrence is low (0.65%). We establish a standard for selecting patients during a program of apprenticeship.