A comparative study on effects of defect closure versus non-closure in laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal repair of direct inguinal hernia

Total extraperitoneal (TEP) and transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) repair are the principal techniques in laparoscopic hernia repair. Seroma formation and pain are frequent complications of moderate-large size laparoscopic direct inguinal hernia mesh repair. This study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of defect closure in moderate-large direct inguinal hernias and its effect on various outcomes. This is a prospective cohort study from September 2020 to August 2021, where a total of 88 patients with uncomplicated direct inguinal hernia (M3 or more) were enrolled in the study and divided into two equal groups of TEP defect closure and non-closure, and various outcome measures were noted. The majority of patients were male (94.31%), with a mean age range of 18–85 years, and had right-sided inguinal hernia (46.5%). Seroma formation at 10th POD in the defect closure and non closure were 24% and 33% (p-value: 0.225), which reduced to 11% and 18%, respectively, at 1 month (p-value: 1.000). All seromas resolved within 6 months. Pain in VAS at 10th POD in the defect closure and non-closure were 1.55±0.571 and 1.38±0.527, respectively (p-value: 0.121), which gradually decreased to 1.20±0.524 and 1.16±0.420 at a 6-month interval (p-value: 0.689). The mean operative time in the bilateral and unilateral defect closure groups was 72.3±4.1 and 56.5±4.3 min. respectively, whereas that in the bilateral and unilateral defect non-closure groups was 62.3±3.7 and 45.7±3.6 min. respectively. The defect closure was found to have higher pain and less seroma formation at various intervals of time following TEP for moderate-large direct inguinal hernia. Although these findings were statistically insignificant, they may be clinically significant, and further studies with a larger sample size are suggested.