QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING INGUINAL-HERNIA REPAIR

Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most common surgical procedures u ndertaken in the NHS. Despite this, no previous work has examined qual ity of life in this patient group. This study examines quality of life preoperatively and at 3 and 6 months postoperatively in 140 patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair in the context of a randomised contr olled trial of laparoscopic versus aspen hernia repair. Surgery was un dertaken on a day case basis, and quality of life was assessed using t he Short Form 36, (SP36), Pra the initial phase of rha study, 57% of t hose screened for suitability met the study inclusion criteria and wer e randomised. No significant differences were found between laparoscop ic and open hernia repair in terms of quality of life at 3 and 6 month s postoperatively. No difference was found between 3 and 6 month score s, suggesting that patients had already made a good recovery by 3 mont hs. A significant improvement was found between preoperative and posto perative scores, with the greatest change arising on dimensions assess ing pain, physical function, and role limitation owing to physical res triction. After standardising for age, sex, and social class, a compar ison of the hernia patients to population norms Wt the SF36 was consis tent with improvement from preoperative to postoperative assessment. T his study has demonstrated the improvement in quality of life in patie nts undergoing elective inguinal hernia repair by experienced surgeons on a day case basis. Ik has also demonstrated the feasibility of asse ssing quality of life using generic measures in this patient group. Fu rther work in this area is required. Ultimately, the priority given to elective inguinal hernia repair will depend on how the demonstrated b enefits compare with those derived from other elective surgical proced ures.