Comparative Study on the Need for Postoperative Analgesic Medication After Surgical Treatment of Inguinal Hernia with Surgical Mesh through Laparoscopic or Classic Approach

Abstract

The incidence of postoperative pain in patients operated for inguinal hernia can reach up to 40% of cases, depending on different authors, and depending on the approach used in the surgical treatment of these patients. Currently, there are two commonly accepted ways of surgical treatment of inguinal hernias, the classic approach with polypropylene mesh (Liechtenstein technique) and the laparoscopic approach. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis on the need for analgesic medication in patients treated for inguinal hernia either by classic (group A) or by laparoscopic (group B) approach. Surgical meshes were used in all patients enrolled in our trial. The average age of the patients included in this study was 53.79 years, ranging from 20 to 88 years. Regarding the distribution of cases by gender, we observed in the studied lots that 12 cases were women (11.53%) and 92 cases were males (88.46%). In female patients, the classic inguinal hernia approach was performed in 3 cases (25% of cases), and in 9 cases the laparoscopic approach was performed in the surgical treatment of the inguinal hernia (75% of the cases). In male patients, laparoscopic approach was performed in 33 cases (35.86% of cases), and in 59 cases the surgical approach was performed in a classical manner using the Liechtenstein technique (64.13% of the cases). From the statistical analysis of the data we noticed a statistically significant difference in the need for analgesic medication administered to these patients (p = 0.0001). Although surgical correction of inguinal hernia, both classic and laparoscopic approaches, provide adequate treatment for these patients, in case of the laparoscopic technique, immediately after the operation, the need for analgesic medication is lower compared to the classical technique.