Open inguinal hernia repair: Our experience with tertiary institution-based surgical outreach

Abstract

Background: Inguinal hernia afflicts the low socioeconomic class mostly in resource-poor settings. The surgical outreach option greatly reduces this burden. Tertiary health institutions will be a good base for surgical outreaches in hernia repairs. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the outcome of using a tertiary health-care facility for a surgical outreach program. Methods: This was a prospective clinical study conducted among 195 patients who underwent open groin hernia repair in Alex-Ekwueme Federal University Teaching hospital Abakaliki. Data were collected from admission, till discharge from hospital, and up to 3 months follow-up after the surgery. Results: Out of 206 recruited, a total of 195 patients underwent open groin hernia repair with a male: female ratio of 6.5:1. Their age ranged from 0 to 88 years with a mean age of 33.94 ± 23.40 years. Among the patients, 69.2% of the hernias occurred in ages below 50 years, 58.4% had right, 38% left and 3.6% had bilateral hernias. Open hernia repair was performed in 63.1% and herniotomy in 36.9%. In those that had an open hernia repair, majority 91.8% had tissue repair, whereas 8.2% had mesh repair. Postoperative complication rate was 9.2%. Conclusion: Surgical outreach in a tertiary health facility offers standard care with skilled surgical personnel offering a better outcome with complication rate similar to what obtains in a conventional tertiary health care. Tertiary hospitals where available should be preferred in the surgical outreach for hernias in a low-resource setting.