A PROSPECTIVE COMPARISON OF TRANSABDOMINAL PREPERITONEAL LAPAROSCOPICHERNIA REPAIR VERSUS TRADITIONAL OPEN HERNIA REPAIR IN A UNIVERSITY SETTING

In this study, laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal inguinal hern ia repair and traditional open inguinal hernia repair were compared in relation to operative time, hospital stay, pain medication use, recov ery time, complications, and costs. Elective hernia repairs, 126 in 10 6 patients, were prospectively followed from January 1991 through Sept ember 1993. Seventy-five procedures were performed by laparoscopy and 51 by traditional open approach. Time off work, pain medication use, s urgical complications, and hospital stay were all significantly less ( p < 0.001) with the laparoscopic approach. Patients in the laparoscopi c group returned to work on average 5.5 weeks earlier than patients wh o underwent traditional herniorrhaphy. The difference in operative tim es was not statistically significant; however, the difference in the c ost of the operations was. In conclusion, laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair offers significantly decreased postoperative pain, shorter hos pital stays, faster return to work, fewer complications, and comparabl e operative times, but at an increased expense for the cost of laparos copic instrumentation and technology.