LAPAROSCOPIC HERNIORRHAPHY - REVIEW OF COMPLICATIONS AND RECURRENCE

Laparoscopic hernia repair has evolved considerably since its introduc tion. Different methods have been described, and multiple studies have been performed reporting widely varying outcomes. This study was unde rtaken to review all the major publications on laparoscopic herniorrha phy from 1993 to 1996 and evaluate the rates of recurrence and complic ations involved in the various techniques. In a total of 11,222 laparo scopic hernia repairs, the procedure performed most frequently was the transabdominal preperitoneal patch (TAPP), followed by the total extr aperitoneal patch (TEP). There were 300 (2.7%) recurrences. From 9,955 hernia repairs, there were 1,534 (15.4%) complications. Hematoma/sero ma (456), neuralgia (199), urinary retention (150), and chronic pain ( 39) were the most frequently reported complications. Laparoscopic hern iorrhaphy is a higher effective method of hernia repair with results c omparable with the open technique. TAPP is still the most widely perfo rmed technique. TEP is becoming more popular, mainly because of its ex cellent outcome. The major drawback of TEP is the difficulty of reprod ucibility by different general surgeons with comparable results. Other techniques such as plug and patch carry a high rate of recurrence and complications and should probably be completely abandoned.