Laparoscopic Sac Disconnection and Peritoneal Closure of Pediatric Inguinal Hernia

Laparoscopic sac disconnection and peritoneal closure represents an alternative to open pediatric hernia repair. We performed a retrospective review of our data to evaluate this alternative method. With REB approval, a retrospective chart review of all patients who underwent laparoscopic indirect inguinal hernia repair between June 2013 and July 2016 was conducted. Primary outcome was the recurrence rate. Secondary outcomes included length of surgery, postoperative hydrocele, and perioperative complications. Data were extracted from EPIC Hyperspace onto a standardized data extraction form. A total of 243 patients were included, of which 82% were males. Age ranged from 1 month to 17 years of age. A total of 322 defects were repaired. Eighty (32%) had contralateral patent processus vaginalis. Twelve (4%) patients presented with incarceration and three (1.2%) had a direct inguinal hernia defect. Recurrence rate was 0.6% (n = 2). There were no intraoperative complications. Operative time was an average of 40 and 54 minutes for unilateral and bilateral repairs, respectively. No testicular ascents, testicular atrophy, vas deferens injury, postoperative hydroceles, and wound infections were reported. Laparoscopic sac disconnection and peritoneal closure of pediatric inguinal hernia is a safe, feasible method with one of the lowest reported recurrence rate among the other laparoscopic methods.