Characteristics of laparoscopic inguinal hernia recurrences

Purpose  This is so far the largest series of recurrences after laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. Methods   Video documents of 1,071 laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs were retrospectively studied with respect to the affected side, anatomical appearance, gender, history and time interval between operation and recurrence. Only indirect, clinically manifest hernias were included. Results  Recurrences occurred in 32 children (3%), 26 boys and 6 girls, aged 62 days to 14 years (median 3). The right side was affected in 21 children, the left in 10 and a bilateral recurrence was noted in 1 child. A total of 25 recurrences occurred medially to the previous suture and 7 laterally. The knot became loose in three cases. An experienced surgeon had only half the recurrences of a less experienced surgeon. The median time interval between surgery and recurrence was 3.8 months. Children up to the age of 2 years had the highest risk of recurrence. The right/left incidence of recurrences roughly was in proportion to the statistical incidence of hernias. Conclusions  Boys had more recurrences than girls. Most recurrences occur medially. The more experienced the surgeon was, the fewer recurrences he had. The stitches at the medial aspect of the hernia, close to the vas, seem to be the most crucial ones.