How Lichtenstein hernia repair affects abdominal and anal resting pressures: a controlled clinical study

Inguinal hernia repair is the most common surgical procedure performed by general surgeons worldwide. The Lichtenstein tension-free hernioplasty was first introduced in 1984 and evolved through 1988. Today it is the gold standard in hernia repair. The objective of this study was to determine if intra-abdominal and anal pressures changed in patients with inguinal hernias after Lichtenstein hernioplasties were performed.

A sample of 103 individuals, 92.2% of whom were male (n = 95) and 7.8% of whom were female (n = 8), aged 38.38 ± 14.03 years was used. The sample was divided into two groups: those with inguinal hernia (n = 53) and those without hernia (n = 50), who served as controls. Anal and abdominal manometric measurements were taken from each control patient at baseline and from each study patient before and after surgical repair.

Data analysis revealed differentiation of abdominal and anal pressures between the controls, the study patients before operation, and the study patients after operation. The average [SD] abdominal pressure was -2.58 mmHg [5.35] before hernia repair and 2.33 mmHG [3.62] after repair. The average [SD] abdominal pressure in the control group was 1.16 mmHg [1.96].

The Lichtenstein tension-free hernioplasty causes increases in abdominal and anal pressures, but this increase is not of a pathological level.