Laparoscopic-Assisted Percutaneous Extraperitoneal Closure for Inguinal Hernia Repair in Children: An Initial Experience

Over the past two decades, laparoscopy has advanced and multiple techniques for inguinal hernia repair have been established. Laparoscopic-assisted percutaneous extraperitoneal closure (LAPEC) for inguinal hernia repair in children, is one of the most simple and reliable methods. The present study aimed to assess the safety and feasibility of the LAPEC of inguinal hernia in children.From January 2014 to January 2016, 21 conventional LAPEC procedures were performed prospectively at our center (Group 1). Over this period, 21 patients of the same age and the same gender had open inguinal herniorrhaphies (Group2). The choice of whether to perform a LAPEC procedure was made according to the surgeon preference. All operations were performed by the same surgeon. No significant differences were found between the 2 groups in terms of sex ratio, mean age, and operating time (p=0.19; student test). There were no operative complications in group 1. Two patients (9.5%) in group 2 presented inguinal hernia recurrence.Despite a relatively high recurrence rate, LAPEC may be a practical alternative to conventional open hernioraphy. Comparative studies must be conduced to test advantages and disadvantages of this procedure in comparison with standard open herniorrhaphy and conventional laparoscopic repair techniques in a more extensive trial.