A Comparative Study between Day Care and Routine Care Inguinal Hernia Mesh Repair

Abstract

Inguinal hernia is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind. If not treated on time, patient may land up with complications. The basic principle of hernia surgery is tension free repair. There are no guidelines regarding an ideal surgery or anaesthesia to be used for inguinal hernia repair. Around 10-12% patient visiting outpatient clinic suffer from inguinal hernia and occupy a significant space in the operative list. Day care surgery in which the patient is discharged within 24 hours of surgery is gradually becoming the norm. A lot of centres are performing exclusive day care surgery with a good patient acceptance, thus reducing the burden on the hospital. In this study conducted on 68 patients in a public tertiary care centre, we have compared day care versus routine care inguinal hernia surgery with 34 patients in each group. Lichtenstein hernia repair was done for all patients. The procedure was done under local anaesthesia for the day care surgery group whereas local/spinal/general anaesthesia was used for routine care group. Patients were admitted and discharged on the same day in day care group while patients in routine care group were admitted and discharged as per and norms of in-patient care. The feasibility of the procedure, recovery time, readmission for surgery related complications, and patient satisfaction was compared among the two groups. We concluded that day care surgery is a feasible option, with early recovery, short stay, early ambulation, minimal complications, and significant patient satisfaction. Day care procedures have an edge over routine care public tertiary care hospitals. Keywords: Inguinal hernia, day care surgery, Lichtenstein repair.