Management of Inguinal Hernia in a Tertiary Center, a two-year Retrospective Study.

Abstract

Background: Inguinal hernia repair remains the most common surgery performed by general surgeons worldwide. There is a lot of published data on the surgical management of inguinal hernias in our country. This study aims to describe our experiences in the surgical management of inguinal hernias and compare our results with those reported in the literature. Material and Method: A descriptive retrospective study was conducted at the University Hospital of Trauma in Albania. From April 2016 - March 2018 were recorded all the data for patients who presented to our hospital and underwent inguinal hernia repair in our hospital, under the conditions of elective surgery. Statistical data analysis was done using SPSS software version 17.0. Results: In this period had a total of 542 patients with inguinal hernias were enrolled in the study. The median age of patients was 46,12 years (range 14 to 92 years old). Males outnumbered females by a ratio of 18.3:1. This gender difference was statistically significant (p = 0.004). Most patients 130 (23.9%) presented late (more than one year of onset of hernia). At presentation, 208 (38.4%) patients had a reducible hernia, 101(18.6%) had an irreducible hernia. The majority of patients 303(55.9 %) had a right-sided inguinal hernia, and 156(28.7 %) had left-sided inguinal hernia with a right-to-left ratio of 1.94: 1. Eighty-three 83(15.3%) patients had bilateral inguinal hernias. 319 (58.8%) patients had an indirect hernia, Conclusion: Inguinal hernias continue to be a source of morbidity and mortality in our center. Early presentation and elective repair of inguinal hernias is pivotal in order to eliminate the morbidity and mortality associated with this very common problem.

Keywords

• Inguinal hernias
• Surgical management
• Treatment outcome
• Predictors of outcome