[Laparoscopic phelps approach in children with inguinal hernia: a retrospective comparative study]

To evaluate the effectiveness of a new method of inguinal hernia repair in children (PHELPS) first proposed by the authors compared to another laparoscopic method (SEAL).

The study demonstrated the results of laparoscopic treatment of 729 patients with inguinal hernias. Of these, 255 patients underwent PHELPS procedure. Other 474 patients underwent SEAL procedure. The difference between both methods is that hernial ligature is passed around the hernial sac in case of PHELPS. SEAL procedure implies capture of tissues of anterior abdominal wall (muscles and aponeurosis) into this knot. We analyzed whether this factor can lead to less incidence of recurrence and hydrocele.

Both groups were comparable by age, body weight and gender. Median of surgery time including correction of unilateral and bilateral hernia was similar (20.0 [10.0; 20.0] min versus 15.0 [15.0; 20.0] min; p=0.666). We found faster patient recovery after PHELPS procedure for inguinal hernia including much less doses of postoperative analgesia (1.0 [1.0; 1.0] versus 1.0 [1.0; 2.0]; p<0.001) and shorter hospital-stay (8.0 [8.0; 8.0] hours versus 8.0 [8.0; 9.0] hours; p=0.010). There were no significant differences in the incidence of postoperative hydrocele (0 versus 6; p=0.097). Nevertheless, recurrence rate differed significantly (0 versus 17; p=0.001).

PHELPS procedure is characterized by lower incidence of recurrence and accelerated postoperative recovery compared to SEAL technique.