A Single Surgeon’s Experience of Total Extra Peritoneal Repair Vs Transabdominal Preperitoneal Repair- A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Introduction: Hernia surgery has evolved over a period of 2500 years from the Bassini-Shouldice era to conventional Lichenstein’s meshplasty to the laparoscopic era. Since, inception of the laparoscopic approach 25 years ago, there were several advancements in the techniques of inguinal hernia repairs. The two most commonly practiced laparoscopic approaches are the Total Extra Peritoneal (TEP) and Transabdominal Preperitoneal (TAPP) repair. Aim: To compare the outcomes for TEP and TAPP approaches in laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery in terms of operative time consumed, postoperative pain, duration of hospital stay, complications and recurrence rate when performed by a single surgeon. Materials and Methods: A prospective interventional cohort study was carried out among 70 patients with uncomplicated inguinal hernia. Patients were divided equally into two groups of 35 patients and underwent TAPP and TEP repairs depending on group randomisation. All surgeries were performed by the same surgeon. Factors including operative time, postoperative pain, duration of hospital stay, complications and recurrence were documented and compared for both the groups. The statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 21. Unpaired t-test was used to compare the mean between the two groups. The p-value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The mean operative time measured in minutes for TEP repair was 31.03 minutes and TAPP repair was 42.26 showing a difference of 11.23 minutes which was statistically significant (p-0.001). The mean Standard Deviation (SD) pain score at 24 hours for TEP repair was 2.43 (1.195) and TAPP repair was 3.43 (0.917). The mean (SD) pain score at 48 hours for TEP repair was 1.31 (1.051) and TAPP repair was 2.20 (0.901). The mean (SD) pain score at one week for TEP repair was 0.37 (0.690) and TAPP repair was 0.91 (0.781). The mean (SD) duration of hospital stay in TEP repair was 2.60 days (0.553) when compared to 3.49 days (0.658) in TAPP repair. All the results were statistically significant with a p-value of 0.001. Conclusion: TEP repair had superior outcomes in terms of reduction in operative time, less postoperative pain and shorter hospital stay than TAPP repair.