An audit of open and laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair

A retrospective case review to describe current practices and outcomes of patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair was undertaken in a principal referral hospital (John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, New South Wales). The participants were patients who had elective laparoscopic or open inguinal hernia repair between 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998. The main outcome measures were duration of surgery, type of anaesthesia, use of antibiotics, length of stay, postoperative complications, analgesic administration, and costs. Laparoscopic repair was advantageous in terms of length of stay and use of analgesia, but at a higher in theatre financial cost. Low rates of day stay surgery and use of local anaesthesia, and a high rate of antibiotic administration were apparent. It was concluded that local surgical practice has adopted some but not all advances described in the literature. Performance of a more expensive hernia repair in some patients may mitigate against performance of any repair in others.